Spiritus Bellum
by Kataang4eva081
Summary: Every 10,000 years, spirits from a mystical spring come to unleash their power, to test the world. If the world can not defeat them the world in not worthy to continue. Naramai, a young girl from a race of people blessed with powers must defend her world.
1. Prologue

Prologue

The small frogs were croaking as they jumped across the narrow brook. Sun rays beat down on the clear water, making it shimmer and glisten, a finer mirror than any craftsmen could produce. Naramai timidly placed her toes in the water, and tingled as the cold water ran over them. She could see her reflection in the water, from her small nose to her dark hair, and the small wooden charm that pinned it up. Whittle reeds made a soft flute like sound, as the slow wind passed through them. The first day of summer. Naramai believed the brook was having a celebration in honor of the day.

No one seemed to come to the brook anymore, except to clean the weekly laundry. The other children of the village never stopped to see what the brook had to offer, they never realized how relaxing it was;too busy climbing trees and pretending to be soldiers. The elders never cared to walk more than they needed, so trips to a brook on the outskirts of the village were out of the question. The brook…a nice place to be alone. Naramai leaned her head back against the soft grass, grabbing one of the many whittle reeds that grew along the bank. Bringing it to her lips she blew through the small holes, and remembered the song that she heard so long ago. A faint memory now, but it still had its place in the back of her mind, just with some cobwebs over it.

A sharp cry split through the delicate music. Naramai threw the reed aside and poked her head over the hill leading to the brook to determine where the cry had come from. A group of children no older then herself were huddled around one of the great Okai trees, one of the older ones so grand and tall. As she ran to them, she could hear soft whimpers from the small gathering.

"Naramai! Get Old Hersha! Hurry up!" One of the children was pointing to the village, speaking in a demanding tone. Naramai ignored the demands, and stepped through the throng of gatherers. A small boy lay, clutching his leg at the base of the tree. His face was twisted in pain, with dried tear stains. His clothing was full of tears and many leaves could be seen poking out of his hair.

"What happened?" She looked to the rest of the children, who all pointed to the broken branch lying next to the boy.

A small girl spoke, "He was almost to the top! But then he grabbed the branch and snap! It broke off! He fell really, really fast! He almost made it too…" The children continued to gape at the pained boy, when the group parted, letting an old women pass through. The children looked to the women with astounded faces, slowly backing away, careful not to make any sudden moves. When they had inched a few feet, they turned and ran with full speed scattering in all directions.

"Hmph, some friends." The old woman turned back and looked at the injured boy.

"Can you help him, Hersha? He fell all that height!" The old women smiled at the young girl's concern and turned the boy onto his back, feeling his leg.

"A broken bone, luckily not shattered. Foolish boy, the Okai trees are not to be underestimated. Though you're lucky I was here gathering herbs or you would have been stuck here for a while, wouldn't that have been fun?" As she grabbed his arm, she beckoned Naramai to her.

"Help me take him back to the hut, he will need some healing." The two walked off, carrying the boy between them. He still had a pained look on his face as he hobbled his way on through the grassy field, and into the village.

They walked past home after home, the boy still moaning, "Oh, did the hut have to be all the way on the other side?" The woman frowned at the comment but continued to walk on. As they came to the edge of the dirt road the small party stopped.

"Well, here we are, and now you can stop your little complaints." The hut was small. Built mostly of spare boards and clay, it had a certain odor to it, but it was a home none the less. As they walked inside, they placed the boy on a small plank table. To the left, the wall was filled with different bottles of potions and nostrums. A vast and impressive collection of ointments to treat an assortment of ailments. The boy looked up toward the old woman with a worried look on his face.

"What…what are you going to do to me?" The woman felt his leg again, nodded and looked toward Naramai, chuckling.

"Heh heh, well, I'm not going to do anything to you, but…" she pointed a finger to the young girl, "but she will." Naramai's eyed widened with a look of sheer terror.

"What? But, but I can't do that! Hersha, you are still teaching me this, I'm not good enough to do actual bones yet! I can't…I won't…" The woman grabbed the girl and pushed her toward the table. For an old woman her strength was impressive.

"Ah, sure you will. You can do it; I've taught you enough on this sort of thing."

"But, I've never actually done it!" The old woman went toward the bottled covered wall and plucked an ointment form it. She tossed it to the young girl, and winked.

"You know what to do." Naramai looked at the bottle, and then glanced up to see the Old Hersha pass through the cloth doorway.

"What? You can't heal! I…I want Old Hersha. You're going to hurt it even more! This leg is valuable to me!" The boy protectively put his hands over his leg, a scowl on his face. Naramai looked at the bottle, the green liquid slowly turning in it. She turned toward the doorway hoping the old woman would come back in, hoping she was only joking when she said that she would heal the boy, but of course she didn't return. She turned back towards the boy, still scowling at her. The young boy starred at Naramai with such a look of intensity it would have made any adult laugh.

"You come near me, and you're dead. You hear?" _Hmph, we'll see._ She grabbed hold of the boy's arms, trying to push them aside when he lunged forward and pressed his teeth into her skin. Screaming in pain she tried to push his head off her arm.

"Hersha! Please come help me! He's mad! Stop biting you freak!" The boy smiled and he began to bite harder, she was afraid that soon he would draw blood.

"Augh! Stop!" Naramai could feel tears forming, but wouldn't give the boy the pleasure of seeing them. The boy was strong, her free arm could not push him away, but she still had the bottle in her hand, the liquid shaking violently in the container as the two thrashed about. She slammed the bottle down onto his leg and it shattered, the glass pieces and liquid flying in all directions. Green liquid dripped off the boy's leg, forming puddles on the table. The boy drew away from Naramai screaming in pain. Deep marks had been left on her arm, red and painful. But there was no time to concern about her arm. Seeing her moment to strike, she placed her hand on his wet leg. The boy realized she was attempting to heal him.

"No! Get away from me!" She slowly breathed, when the liquid underneath her hand began to glow, the boy pulling his arm back from his intent to strike her. She smiled and pressed harder on his leg, when the now almost white liquid began to wrap itself around the boy's leg.

"What's it doing? No, what are you doing? Stop…stop now!" _Oh just be quiet boy! Come on liquid, come on…_ Naramai quickly placed her other hand onto the leg pressing down even harder. The liquid continued to circle the leg, going faster, glowing brighter, when it suddenly disappeared into the boy's skin. He fell back against the plank board, gripping the sides, trying not to scream out. Naramai pulled her hand away from his leg and sighed.

"I did it…" she whispered to herself. Slowly, the boy sat upright and grabbed his leg, rubbing his hands all over the dry skin.

"Its fine now," Naramai mumbled angrily, she didn't even want to look at him, the rotten child. The bite marks were deep, it was painful to touch, but she knew they would disappear over time, no need for healing. She pointed to the doorway.

"Go home now, and get out." Turning toward the wall of bottles, she pretended to straighten them.

"So this is why they elders don't like you? I don't blame them. They talk about you all the time; and they're right when they call you a freak. Only Hersha can do this! What makes you so special you can heal?" Naramai clenched her fists.

"Hersha tells me not to talk about it, and I'm not about to tell you, now go!" The young boy crossed his arms and looked defiantly toward Naramai, she was only a girl, it couldn't be that hard to get information.

"I bit you before, and I'll do it again, tell me how come you can do this!" She remembered what Hersha had told her, about the bad things, the horrible things, and the good. The old woman didn't even tell the young girl part of the story, too young for the truth, or the whole truth at least. Remembering what Hersha told her sent chills up her body and she shuttered.

"Look, I didn't ask for this! You're healed, so you can leave now! Go back to your friends. Go and climb that tree again…just go!" She turned around seeing the boy had still not left.

"Why are you still here?" He looked at her like he had an upper advantage, as if they were playing some sort of game.

"You're not from Old Hersha's tribe are you?" Finding out about this girl would be the only excitement he'd receive all day. Naramai wouldn't answer, but only starred at him. He shrugged and twirled his toe in the dirt floor.

"So you won't answer? I don't care; I know you're not from her tribe though. I don't even know why the spirits made those people anyways. No one ever tells us kids, like it doesn't matter. At least my leg is fixed." The tent was quiet; Naramai learned that the young boy wasn't stupid; he could piece information together, even if it was little in quantity.

"You better go now; no one likes me with other kids." The boy began to kick the dirt now; he clearly needed to be entertained at all times.

"It's not like you have to listen to them. I don't."

She turned from the wall, and spoke firmly, "Nothing's keeping you here anymore, so go." Pride was important to the young boy, and he wanted to keep his intact.

"So are you stuck here all day? Looks boring to me, just plants that smell funny." Her small hands smoothed out the little apron she wore around her waist, and she walked towards the door.

"Its not like Hersha holes me up here all day, I go outside too, is that so hard to believe? Besides, what I do here is more interesting than what you do, climbing trees and falling out of them." He let a small smile creep onto his face, though his eyebrows were bent in displeasure.

"Oh, and what do you do that's so great, huh? Pick flowers?" The old curtain was pushed aside as Naramai began to walk out of the hut, letting golden light hit the dirt floor.

"Maybe I do," she looked back towards the boy, a bored look on his face, "but there are better things to do…do, do you go to the brook?" The young boy crossed his arms.

"You're joking right? There are just some stupid little frogs to catch, big excitement there."

"You do what you like; I'm not forcing you to do anything. A shame you won't see the whittle reeds though." She let the curtain fall back into place and walked onto the sunlit road. Old Hersha was leaned up against the small tree next to the hut, one day it would grow into another great Okai tree. A groan emerged form inside the hut, and the young boy began to follow Naramai who was already disappearing behind another hut.

"Hmph, whittle reeds…this better be good," he muttered to himself, and he too disappeared behind the huts.

The old woman watched as the both children ran off. _It's nice to relax like this; people should stay healthy more often. _She sighed and stoked the small pearly cat on her lap, than raised the animal to her face.

"She doesn't realize just how similar he is too her. No parents either, shame what happened to his dear old mother, what a tragedy, fortunate he can't remember it though." As she set the pearly cat back onto her lap she smiled.

"But Naramai finally understands how to mend broken bones, and it looks as if she did a good job, didn't she kitty?" The small cat meowed as the old woman began to shut her eyes, leaning against the small tree.

Naramai ran ahead of the boy, her feet splashing up the water in the brook. Along the bank a long stretch of small plants grew soaking up the sun, all of them a delicate pale shade of green.

"Plants? You brought me here to see plants? What, should I bow down to you now oh great plant seeker?" Rolling her eyes, she plucked a few of the reeds from the ground.

"I didn't bring you anywhere; you're the one trotting behind me." His face flushed red with embarrassment and he opened and closed his mouth thinking of how to retaliate, but Naramai covered the silence with her own words.

"You see," she held one of the reeds to the air, and the slow breeze passed through the holes in the plant, "sometimes the wind will do the work for you, but it's much prettier when you do it."

"Do…what, you mean play that thing?" Naramai could tell from his expression that he was clearly not impressed, but it was to be expected. His entertainment was found in climbing dangerous trees, not listening to the brook's wonders.

"Of course play them…" She closed her eyes as she brought the reed to her lips and softly blew through the holes. It was the same melody she played earlier that morning, the same melody she always played. One she could remember from memory so long ago. She began to lower the reed, and opened her eyes.

"That's all I can remember." The boy raised an eyebrow and plucked his own reed from the ground, staring at it.

"Whittle reeds huh? Its no Okai tree, but…" he stopped talking and drew in a large breathe and blew through the holes. A shrill sound cut through the air, diminishing any peace that had been acquired by stander by. It matched the sound of an ill duck. Naramai was disgusted by the sound and covered her ears.

"No! Stop! That's not how you do it! Do you pay attention at all?" The boy lowered the reed, looking at it as if it was its fault for the terrible sound.

"Stupid reed, can't even do it right." Naramai rolled her eyes.

"Yea, that's it, it's the reeds fault. You have to blow gently, like the wind does…"

The breeze diminished, as if laying in wait for the sound, wanting to hear if another human could match its own brilliance.

"Fine," he put the reed to his lips again. A soft sound emerged from the reed; random in notes, but it was music.

"There, see you're getting it. Isn't that better than what was honking out of there before?" The boy smiled and looked at the reed. He puffed up his chest and held the reed out like a sword, as if he had just defeated a mighty enemy.

"Ha ha! Nothing can defeat the great Tadeo! I have conquered the great whittle reed! You thought you were going to get me didn't you?" He jumped across the brook and blew a quick few notes through the reed again, to make sure he hadn't lost his touch, and let a small smile creep onto his face at his great accomplishment. Naramai sat down on the grass, letting her feet stay into the shimmering water. She could see a few toddies in the water swimming around her toes. They were always curious fish, always wanted to know who was there and what they were doing. She placed her reed next to her and looked at the boy, now using the reed as a weapon, slashing through the air. Clearly he had found a new source of entertainment, but she had known the musical appeal wouldn't last long. Laying her head down on the green grass she stared up at the clear sky.

She could remember how the elders would talk to Hersha, always whispering, "Keep her away…" muttering how "Seclusion was best…" Hersha liked keeping Naramai at the hut, always teaching her how the other children "wouldn't understand her", bringing her up to accept loneliness. Naramai didn't realize it but the old woman was remembering what it was like to be a child. Hersha remembered that children needed their own kind, and seclusion could only last for so long. Her thoughts were broken as water splashed onto her face, oh it was so cold! The boy was running through the water, making a mess of things.

"The great and powerful Tadeo just conquered the reed, and now he'll get you too toddie! Ha! Hey get back…" She rolled her eyes and smiled, seclusion wasn't so bad with company. Spreading her arms across the grass she sighed. "Tadeo…"


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One

"Tadeo!" Two figures ran through the brook, splashing up the crisp water. The boy had a grin on his face, running with impressive speed as the high sun glistened off the three short knives attached to his belt. He had grown from a small boy to a tall teenager. A breeze blew through the boy's hair. It was the same color as the dried hay in the village. His cloth sandals, clearly worn out, beat against the grass as he made his way up one of the many hills.

"You're too slow, come on! Hersha goes faster than you!" The girl was running behind him. Her hair, black as the night time sky whipped behind her, a small wooden charm still pinned up to keep it out of her face. A small bag bulging with plants and herbs slapped against her legs as she ran through the grass, trying to keep up with the boy.

"Good! Maybe she can catch up with me and take me back home! Where are you taking me? Just tell me!" The boy stopped as he reached the top of the hill, and began kicking at the grass in boredom. Moments later, Naramai reached the top, rolling her eyes at her friend's self entertainment.

"You're pathetic; it took me an extra three seconds." He only smiled and crossed his arms. The Okai woods lay thick and dense beyond the hill, at the bottom the grass stopped growing to let the mighty trees take over the land.

"Three seconds too slow, and I wasn't even running at my best." Naramai pretended to look annoyed.

"Well we all can't be as un-naturally fast as you. You wait, one day you'll trip and fall and bust up your legs, and then what oh mighty runner?" He began to laugh.

"Then you'll fix me up!"

The two looked out into the darkened realm of trees. It was rare for a villager, or anyone, to venture into the woods. Naramai had always wondered what lay beyond the first line of ancient trees but was strictly told never to discover for herself. Avoiding the forest was an unwritten rule of the village, never explained but was expected to be followed.

"Impressive, a view of the Okai forest, thanks for the daily dose of excitement Tadeo but, I have to help Hersha today." Tadeo had a pleading look on his face.

"Oh come on, the coot can take care of herself." Naramai raised her eyebrow, the old woman had been a mother like figure for her as long as she could remember, and she had taught her all she knew about healing.

"Tadeo, she's not a…"

"Ok, sorry, sorry, let's just go!" He quickly grabbed her bag of her shoulder and waved it high in the air as he ran down the hill, laughing.

"Oh you little…Tadeo! Give me that!" She ran after him, down the long grass covered hillside.

Making her way down the hill she yelled after him, "If you lose any of those plants…" He only turned, smiling at her, and began to run faster.

As she reached the bottom, Naramai could feel a presence, ancient in feeling; she knew many years had passed with these woods standing here. They had reached the edge of the Okai forest. Tadeo threw the bag back to Naramai, and she quickly looked to make sure the contents were still intact.

"Well it's in here, it won't take long." Naramai glanced up at the huge trees. They seemed to touch the sky with their black branches and deep green leaves and vines. Different plants crawled up their sides, thick underbrush covering the ground. She couldn't even see past the first few trees, the rest of the forest looked like a black cave.

"I know rules are as foreign to you as common sense…"

"Hey!"

"…but Tadeo, we can't go in there. You know that. Hersha doesn't even like it when I come near it just for herbs. We won't ever see the light of day again if some one figures out we've been in there." Tadeo bent his head, sighing. He ran up to one of the ancient trees and leaned against it, then took out one of his sleek knives and quickly thrust it into the ancient wood. Naramai stomped her foot like a child.

"Tadeo!" He took a few steps back and put his arms up as if showing off an exotic relic.

"Look, see? Nothing is wrong with this forest. I've already been in here. I don't know why every one is so uptight about it. Just some old trees and a bug or two, nothing to get worked up about. Come on, you said you'd let me show you something." Naramai reached her hand out to touch one of the trees, a shiver going through her body; there had to be something more to these woods than just "some old trees and a bug or two". Rules, even unwritten ones, weren't made for nothing. She withdrew her hand and looked cautiously into the woods.

"Something isn't right. Can't you feel it? This whole wood, it's just something…" Tadeo walked beside her and grabbed her arm.

"I've already been in, no big monsters, no trees that come to life, no quicksand of doom, just a forest. You're just feeling bad because Old Hersha is going to have to be alone for a few minutes having to suffer through her own company." He smiled, and pulled her along. Naramai sighed.

"Fine." Tadeo's face lit up, and his plain, dirt colored eyes glistened.

"Great, you'll love this, and I promise nothing bad is in here." He began to walk into the pool of darkness, his body consumed by the shadows. Naramai looked back into the safe world of light and clear hillsides. _Hersha is going to kill me for this...if these woods don't kill me first. _This feeling was so unnatural; it was as ominous as the woods themselves, but she trusted Tadeo more than she trusted this her own feelings. _It's only some trees Naramai, just some old dirty trees. Just some trees. _She took her first step past the tree line, and entered the Okai woods.

Naramai wanted to turn back. The little light that shone came from her own palm, a small orb of light dancing above her hand, barley enough to see Tadeo running in front of her. The forest floor was covered in thick undergrowth, making it hard to move quickly. Twisted vines and old roots were spread across the ground, covered by decaying leaves. She could hear small creatures moving about, making little noises as they scuttled. The feeling she had as she touched the Okai tree continued to grow as she moved farther and farther into the forest. Tadeo was running ahead of her, whooping and jumping around. He seemed to feel right at home in this dark world.

"Isn't this great? I don't know why no one comes in here. These trees must be thousands of years old!" Naramai just nodded her head and continued to run through the throng of trees. As she ran, seconds turned into minutes. The forest became denser. It was becoming difficult to walk over the huge roots that emerged from the ground. Naramai stubbed her toes many times as she ran into decaying wood and uplifted roots. And the sounds of larger creatures roaming the forest floor, grunting and moaning, only made the feeling worst. She could hardly see Tadeo, now walking beside her.

"Ah, don't worry, nothing will come to get us, and even if they tried," he paused and pulled one of the small knives from his belt, tossing it in the air, "they won't try for long." Naramai still felt uneasy about the strange woods.

"Tadeo, how far away is this…thing exactly? It's already been a while and if I don't get back soon Hersha…" Tadeo stopped walking and smiled.

"You can stop worrying now, we're here." He ran through an opening between vine covered trees. Naramai looked ahead to where he had disappeared. She could see faint sunlight pouring out through the small opening. Small flowers grew at the base of the trees, like tiny stars covering the ground. The noises from the beasts that filled the forest could not be heard.

"Naramai, come on in," Tadeo's voice called from within.

As she walked through the passage like entrance, sunlight hit her face. A small pool of water was surrounded by huge Okai trees, with roots taller than her. The star shaped flowers covered the ground by the base of the trees. The water looked pure and clear, and shined as the sunlight reflected off it.

"Tadeo…" He walked up next to her.

"See, I knew you'd like it. I walked in the woods one day and came across it; I thought you would like it." She was awestruck, looking from right to left, up and down, observing every little part of the hidden pool.

"The spirits themselves must have made this." The soft grass felt nice underneath her feet, no more vines or fallen branches. She bent to pick one of the star like flowers and lifted it to her nose, it smelled so sickeningly sweet.

"What is this place?" Tadeo sat at the edge of the pool, placing his feet in the cool water.

"I don't know. I just saw light coming through the two trees back there, so I checked it out, and I found this place." He moved his feet around in the cool water, the ripples shining from the light of the sun.

"I don't understand where this pool's source comes from, there's no river or stream, nothing. Hmm, maybe it's underground." He bent his head, his nose almost touching the water.

"I wonder how deep this is, I can't even see the bottom. Naramai, come feel the water, it's great." Naramai smiled and walked over to her friend, she looked into the deep water, so clean and clear; it was true, the spring seemed bottomless. She lifted her leg to dip it into the water, her toes touching the pool, feeling the cool sensation.

A painful feeling began to spread throughout her body numbing her, barley letting her excrete a small gasp. The light around her began to dim out, her world becoming black. As her eyes shut she fell into the water, the spring engulfing her body, the sight of her black hair disappearing beneath the surface.

"Naramai!" Tadeo jumped up, seeing her body sink, and dived into the water after her.

Naramai's mind was black. She felt nothing, not the coolness of the water, nor the thumping of her heart and lungs struggling to stay alive. As she sunk deeper and deeper, she saw red, swirling and spiraling in her mind, red as blood. It was blood. Men and women fighting brutally, beasts also appeared to be fighting alongside. No, they weren't humans, they couldn't be, they didn't wield swords or shields, and they used the curious powers Naramai herself had. The bodies were falling, people screaming. She felt anger and greed eating away at her emotions, until no one was left standing. The images were slowly replaced by new ones. A man and a beautiful woman were running, the woman dressed in fine clothing and jewels and the man clutching a sword. The image became clearer and a wriggling bundle could be seen in the woman's arms, little hands reaching out. It was a baby. It cried and screamed, reaching to clutch the woman. The man began to disappear into nothingness, followed by the woman. Only the baby was left, its arms raised, screaming and crying as its body skipped across water, like a stone thrown across a lake. Naramai felt fear consume her body, and she continued to sink into the abyss of the pool.

"Whoa…Naramai, you alright?" The girl's eyes opened, no longer viewing the darkness, but the light. Tadeo was sitting by her side, a look of relief on his face. Water was dripping from his head, his clothing as soaked as her own.

"T-Tadeo…" He smiled and lifted her body up to embrace her.

"What happened to you? Your eyes were closed and you wouldn't swim, you just kept on," he stared back at the spring, "sinking." Naramai could see they were still at the spring, the sun was moving from above the clearing over them, making the area look darker. She felt so tired and exhausted, and so weak.

"I…I don't know. Everything just got black and I just fell in." She looked over to the pool, so simple and harmless looking, nothing any one would normally fear.

"This place is cursed Tadeo." It was all she would say, Naramai didn't want to tell him about the images she saw; it would only worry him more.

"The spirits really must have made this damn place, angry ones. Are you sure you're alright though? You've been out of it for a while." She nodded, and struggled to sit up, her head ached so horribly.

"Naramai…something, uh…happened to you, something I've never seen happen before. When you were falling into the water, this…I don't know, image of a hand began to glow on your own hand." Confused and frightened she lifted her hands to her face, but of course no glowing image appeared.

"A hand?"

"I take it this never happened before…" he looked around the towering border of trees, almost expecting beasts to come jumping through the cracks, "great." Too many things raced through Naramai's mind. A curse from the pool? A sign from the visions? She didn't like not knowing what was happening.

"Tadeo, we have to go, we have to go now." She strained to pull her self up, until Tadeo held her arms and helped her.

"We need to get you to Hersha, can you walk?" he asked, bringing her arm around his neck, holding her up. Her body felt useless, as if it could collapse at any second. She was cold and wet, and felt light headed. Grass was attached to her wet limbs, irritating her skin. But they had to leave this cursed place, they had been lucky, Naramai knew she could have drowned, and she didn't want to take another chance on something worse happening.

"I'm…I'm going to be…fine. Let's just get out of here."

The two slowly made their way out of the secluded spring. Only a small glimpse of the sun could be seen over the secluded pool and it was now almost as dark as the rest of the woods. Tadeo held tight to Naramai, helping her to walk straight. Water dripped off of them onto the ground, dead leaves sticking to their feet. They moved at a slow pace, for the forest floor was covered in obstacles. Only the ancient Okai trees lay witness to their long march home.

As the forest began to thin out, Naramai looked up to see Tadeo's grim face.

"I'm sorry Tadeo. I'm sorry for what happened back there, you were so excited to show me…"

"No, no, if I had known what would've happened I would never have shown you in the first place." He squinted his eyes, and looked ahead.

"Look, up ahead…grass, it's the hills, we're almost out of here." Naramai glanced ahead, it was true, the trees were thinning out and she could see the green grass of the hills. As the two walked out of the Okai forest into the light, leaves crumpled nearby. A pair of silver eyes emerged from behind a nearby tree, but the rest of the spectator was hidden by the shadows and the vines and leaves littering the forest floor. A smile crept upon its face as it laid witness to the two figures leaving the forest.

"Found you…"

Naramai and Tadeo reached the top of the hill, where only hours before they had stood, unaware of the misfortune to come. The sun was setting behind the tree tops, turning the sky red. Their feet trudged through the grass, as they listened to the crickets' songs and the birds' evening cries. As they crossed the brook, they could finally lay their eyes upon the village. Children came running from farther down the brook splashing up the water onto their clothes and swarmed around the two. This new generation had taken a fancy to the brook, just as Naramai had.

"Where you been? You missed Betona catch a really, really bit toddie!" The children jumped around them as Naramai and Tadeo continued to walk. A little girl smiled and pulled on Naramai's bag.

"Old Hersha was looking for you all day! Naramai gots in big trouble!" Tadeo shook the tiny boy with messy hair off his leg. Tadeo looked around at all the children and knew they had to leave.

"Is that so? Thanks for the warning kids, but why don't you go catch us another toddie? In fact, get the biggest one you can find." The children giggled and ran off to a deeper part of the brook, screaming assortments of commands and plans to catch a great toddie. Naramai sighed as they entered the village. Hersha was not the woman to make angry. Tadeo had seemed to make an art of this, and had once again proven his skill. She could already imagine the screaming and flailing of the arms.

"So what do we tell her, the old coot bag?" Tadeo asked as they walked down the dirt road. Naramai frowned.

"The truth. Lying doesn't work with her, she can see right through it. And stop calling her that." The boy looked ahead.

"Ah, here comes the bundle of joy herself." The old woman walked uncommonly fast for a woman of her age. A bag, similar to Naramai's was tossed about as she walked; a stern and angered look on her face. She hardly used her walking stick as she moved toward them.

"Brace yourself…" Naramai whispered.

"A simple task! A simple task! All day I was running around trying to…Tadeo! What did you do? Why are you holding her like that? Let her go! Naramai! Where have you been? A simple task, un-like any other! Where were you? You're soaked! Tadeo! Let go of her! Running around all day, looking for you! A simple task and you go running off some where! Where have you been?" She prodded her stick into Tadeo's chest.

"You, young man, what are you doing with Naramai? Get off of her! Shoo! Little rascal…" Tadeo put his hand to his knives, but Naramai held back his arm.

"That's right, threaten an old woman like me. Go home!" Hersha grabbed Naramai's arm, causing the girl to fall to her knees.

"What's wrong with you? Tadeo, what did you do?" Tadeo stared at the woman.

"She'll tell you," he said, and turning around muttering under his breath, "you fat old coot bag." Hersha prodded her stick into his back; causing him to stumble. Tadeo turned his head to give her an icy glare. The old woman put Naramai's arm around her neck, and walked off with her. Tadeo continued to walk down the road, muttering under his breath.

Hersha took Naramai through the cloth door and into the healing hut. She laid her down onto the plank table and covered her shivering body with a blanket. As the old woman ran her fingers over the assorted bottles on the wall she shook her head.

"So many questions. Naramai, where did this happen? What did you do? It was that boy's fault wasn't it?" Naramai sat up, clutching the blanket close to her body.

"No, Hersha, it wasn't his fault. He…he just wanted to show me something." Hersha grabbed a bottle from the wall and walked back to the plank table.

"Ah, and what was this thing that was so important, more important then helping me out today?" The woman poured some of the clear liquid in a small bowl, and walked over to another table, covered in dry herbs.

"I'm sorry Hersha; it was only supposed to take a few minutes." Naramai pulled the small wooden charm out of her wet hair as the old woman began to crush the herbs under a smooth rock.

"You still haven't told me where you went." Naramai toyed with the small charm, tossing it from hand to hand.

"We," she paused and looked toward the bottle covered wall, "we went into the Okai woods. He just really wanted to show me something! I'm sorry…" Hersha banged the rock on the table.

"The woods!? The woods! You completely disobeyed me! Naramai…the woods! You are never to go into those woods! The one thing I've always said! The one thing I ask!" Naramai faced her.

"I know! I'm sorry…I, I don't know why I did it." Hersha placed the crushed herbs into the bowl and stirred the concoction together, holding the spoon with a firm grip.

"So you went into the woods, how did you get wet? And why were you so weak?" Naramai continued to toy with the wooden charm.

"Well, he showed me this little pool." Hersha dropped her bowl to the floor, breaking into many pieces, spilling the soup like mixture onto the ground.

"What…did…you…do?" Naramai tightened her grip around the blanket.

"I don't know! I touched the water, and everything turned dark. Tadeo said I fell in, and I saw these…images," She buried her head into the blanket, "I don't know what happened." Hersha walked to the entrance of the hut, putting a hand to her head.

"Hersha, he said he saw something appear on my hand, when I touched the water. He said he saw a hand, appear on my own." Hersha turned around, and placed both her arms on Naramai's shoulders.

"Listen to me; you must never go back to that pool. Never go back to those woods. Promise me, you will never go there again." Naramai looked at Hersha's solemn face.

"But why? What happened to me there? Those images…" Hersha bent down to pick up the broken pieces of the bowl.

"Yes, tell me what you saw." Naramai closed her eyes, trying to remember exactly what she saw.

"First, there were people fighting. People like…me. There was blood everywhere. I could feel anger and greed. It was horrible. Then, I could see a man and a woman running. The woman had a baby in her arms. The man and woman, they disappeared, leaving only the baby. I could only feel fear then. Hersha, what happened to me?!" The old woman placed the broken pottery on the table.

"Images, only images Naramai. Forget them. It will do you no good to dwell on them. Just, forget them." Hersha began to walk toward the entrance.

"Try to get some sleep. If you feel you have the strength you can eat the leftover loaf on that table over there. And please Naramai, no more trips to the woods." The old woman pushed aside the cloth. As she walked outside, she could see the last of the setting sun. It was quiet in the village, not even a small breeze to take away the silence. The old woman paced back and forth, outside the hut. _She will need to know soon. I don't know how she will react. Poor child. She knows so little…so little._

Naramai tossed the small charm in her hands. The wood was carved to look like a whittle reed. Small flowers and vines circled around it. She knew that Hersha didn't want to talk about what she saw. She lifted her hands, pale as always. No hand appeared on them, nothing at all, just pale skin. She wrapped the blanket around her body and placed her head on the table. As she closed her eyes she could still see the images, racing through her head, and she could hear the screams of the crying baby.


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Naramai opened her eyes. The morning sun light was shining through the windows and cracks in the walls, and for a moment she forgot where she was and how she'd come there. But as she sat up cringing, she remembered how she'd fallen asleep from exhaustion on the plank table the night before. She looked around the hut only to see that Hersha was not there. A fire had been lit in the small earthen stove and the floor had been swept of any twigs or dirt, but the old woman had left. She was old though, and Naramai thought that the woman's crazed mind must have gone off in search of a wounded animal to heal or some new plant for future medicine. In any case, she gave it no further thought, yawned and climbed the ladder to the small room above the healing hut.

Two beds were snug next to each other, simple and plain. Naramai slipped her dirty and still damp clothing off her body and changed into the clothing that was laid out on her side of the room. Healer's clothes. A simple shirt with large sleeves that ended at her elbows and pants that went down to her knees. She wound a simple skirt around her waist, filled with large pockets to carry herbs and other medicinal plants or findings. As she finished tying her skirt she reached to her hair to re-clip it up, as she always did. Tadeo had his precious knives and she had her precious charm. But all her hand met was her damp hair. _Wait, where's my charm?_ She looked around the room, wondering if Hersha had taken it upstairs. Nothing, just her dirty clothes and the beds, must be downstairs. She raced back down the ladder into the healing hut, where she spotted the small charm on the table covered in herbs. As she walked over to retrieve it, she saw it was holding down a small note.

"Its Hersha's messy handwriting, she's always wasting her paper…" She squinted her eyes, trying to decipher the note.

_Naramai-_

_I hope you are feeling better, _

_if you are hungry please eat the leftover bread._

_I will be busy for most of the day_

_and will not need your help_

_so feel free to do as you will._

_I have some important things to talk to you about,_

_so be sure to come home around evening._

_-Hersha_

Naramai placed the note into her pocket and clipped her hair up with the small charm.

_She wants to talk to me about those images. Those stupid images._ As she thought, she picked up the stale bread and placed it in her pocket. She pushed aside the curtain door and walked out of the healing hut, letting the warm day greet her.

The sun was bright today, children were running all around the village, laughing and playing, while men walked along the road chatting, and women carried bundles of laundry. The village in and of itself was quite large. Different occupations filled the homes, from livestock owners to iron work to healing. The richer folk had larger homes, made out of white plaster and had wooden planks for the roof. The selected mayor of the village lived in a house as such. The poorer residents would pile together small boards and logs to craft themselves a home. The village was partially surrounded by the Okai forest, while roads led to other villages or large towns. The villages would trade amongst themselves, some even trading with the larger towns and cities. Tadeo himself worked for a tradesman, his boss always traveling between the villages.

Naramai could see a small group of children running towards her, laughing and jumping. A little girl pulled on her pant legs and hopped excitedly.

"Oh Naramai! Guess whats? Demiscus is back! I bet he brought all sorts of new things back from his last tripy! He gets the neatest things! He doesn't like kids in his shop, but could you comes with us? I bet he'll let you in." Another boy jumped next to her.

"Yea, he's a meany. But since you and Tadeo are friends, he'll probably lets us in with you. Come on you gotta! I want to see what he has this time!" More of the children pleaded with her to come with them. The hopped up and down with large smiles on their faces. She patted the little girl's head.

"Well, you're in luck, I was headed there myself, so..." she tapped her chin pretending to think. The children crowded closer to her.

"Oh please! Lets us come! You has to!" Naramai smiled, she loved how the children talked improperly, but who had time to teach them? No they would pick it up on their own.

"Well, alright, you can tag along." The children cheered and ran ahead of Naramai. They loved the tradesman; he was always bringing back exotic and unusual items, just the thing to excite young minds. If Demiscus was in a fair mode, he would tell the children about his travels, but he was not fond of their grimy hands poking around his shop. _Ugh, if Demiscus is back then so is his pig of a son._ Demiscus always took his son, his only son, on his travels. Naramai enjoyed the times when he was not around.

"Come-y on Naramai!" The children yelled back to her, waving their arms and she could see their anxious little faces.

"I'm coming!" She yelled back, and followed the herd of children to the tradesman's shop.

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"Well, well, if it isn't Miss Let's-Scare-Tadeo-Half-to-Death herself. Guess you're alright now." Tadeo was sitting outside the shop, sharpening one of his sleek knives with a stone. He adored his knives, one of the few possessions he could call his own.

"So, what are you doing here with the kiddies?" The children flocked from Naramai to the boy, staring at the small blades.

"Can we play wif them pleases? We won't hurts nobody! Oh they're so shiny…" Tadeo slipped the knife back into his belt.

"What do you think I am? An idiot? I wouldn't let you kids touch these knives even if you got Demiscus to give me a raise." The children's faces transformed from energetic to pouty.

"Oh you big meany! Just because we're kids…" Tadeo smiled.

"Because you're kids and I know what you'll do with them. Hersha will have ten new patients with lost limbs. Now get outta here." Naramai stepped through the prong of children.

"Its ok, they're with me. I promised them I would let them in to see whatever Demiscus picked up this time. Is he around?" The children flocked back to Naramai as Tadeo stood up.

"He's around back, trying to teach his oaf of a son how to 'properly wield a sword'. Doubt he could even lift one." Naramai looked toward the children.

"Alright, we can go in, just be quick, and don't touch anything. Try to stay on the quite side as well." The children cheered in rejoice and crowded through the doorway into the shop. As Naramai followed, a man's voice, strong and clear came from behind the shop.

"Tadeo boy! Get back here for a moment!" Tadeo bent his head and sighed.

"Ugh, every minute of everyday. And now the oaf's back there too. Come on, you're coming with me, I can't deal with that idiot alone today." Naramai looked towards the wide eyed children as they observed and pointed to each little trinket in the shop.

"You kids better behave yourselves! I'll be right back." As she turned to Tadeo she frowned.

"Why do I get roped into these things?" Tadeo ran ahead, behind the large shop, chuckling.

A wooden fence lined the property behind the shop. A middle aged man was conversing with a boy, who was struggling to hold an impressive sword. The boy was roughly Tadeo's age, though that was where the similarities ended. The boy was weighty, clearly well fed. His clothes were of high price and his hair was well kept. He was sweating profusely as he struggled to hold the sword. The older man turned as he saw Tadeo enter the fenced area.

"Ah, Tadeo. And Naramai, what a pleasure to see you young lady." The sweating boy turned, frowning.

"The girl? What's she doing here? This is a place for warriors only!" He attempted to lift the sword above his head, but the attempt was useless, and he dropped the sword to the ground. Naramai frowned and raised her hand, flicking her wrist. The handle of the impressive sword began to glow, and it rose from the ground. She moved her arm to her chest, and the sword followed, levitating to her body. She grabbed it from the air, holding it with the ease the boy did not have, and she observed the ornate handle.

"Warrior hardly. Demiscus, where did you get a sword like this? It must have cost a fortune." Demiscus smiled.

"You know not all my dealings are…fair." Naramai rolled her eyes.

"You wanted me for something Demiscus?" Tadeo stepped forward, crossing his arms. Demiscus put his hand on his son's shoulder.

"Yes, I don't believe the art of the sword is the correct art for my son, at least not yet. I think it would be best for him to work his way up to the sword. Would you mind teaching him how to throw knives first? I know your remarkable skill, so if it's not too much trouble would you train Blan in your art?" Tadeo forced a smile and walked toward the boy.

"Of course."

Naramai struggled to hold back her laugh. _Blan throw knives?! I bet he could hardly lift those._ Demiscus patted both boys' shoulders.

"Well, Blan, you're in good hands. I'll have to go off and man the shop, since Tadeo's here, but I'll check up on you two later." Naramai remembered the kids were still in the shop and stopped smiling.

"Yes, well, I'll be back as well." She turned and ran in front of the shop, quickly thrusting open the door. Her face lit up in horror. The children were running around carrying large and delicate items showing them off to the others. They giggled as they poked odd creations and laughed at strange masks.

"Listen to me! Put everything back now! You have to get out of here! Demiscus is right…"

"Demiscus is here." The children screamed as the man walked past Naramai into the shop, but she was relieved to see none of the children had dropped anything in their fright.

"What are these crazy kids doing in my shop?! Put that back immediately! Don't poke that! Get out! Get out!" The children hurriedly placed back whatever object they had picked up and ran out of the shop. Demiscus, clearly the emotion of anger spread across his face, turned towards the door way where Naramai still stood.

"Ah, dear, sweet Naramai, sweet Naramai. Were you the mastermind behind letting these kids in my shop?" Demiscus crossed his arms, waiting for Naramai to answer.

"Well, they only wanted to look at what you brought back. You know they love it. I couldn't resist, I didn't know they were going to actually pick things up and run around with them. I'm so sorry." Demiscus frowned and walked toward Naramai, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Well, _I_ can't resist giving you command of the counter. Looks like you'll be stuck in here all day dealing with costumers. Maybe this will teach you a lesson: no kids in the shop!" As he walked past her Naramai spun around.

"Wait! Where are you going? I…I can't run a shop!" Demiscus continued to walk.

"I have more important things to do than watch over the shop. Don't worry; I'm sure you can manage. You managed to let kids into my shop, I'm sure you can handle letting adults in too." As he disappeared behind one of the village houses, Naramai sighed.

"Great, now I'm stuck here all day." As she closed the door to the shop, she could hear Blan complaining loudly about his training. _Bet the oaf managed to stab himself._ She walked behind the counter and opened a large window, looking onto the fenced-in area. She could see Tadeo, his fingers to his forehead, obviously frustrated. A small "X" had been drawn on the side of a barrel, leaning against part of the fence. Two small knives were stuck in the ground, a good distance away from the barrel. Blan was yelling at Tadeo, his face red with exhaustion and anger. Naramai leaned her body out the window, smiling from the slight amusement of the situation.

"So how is our little friend doing?" Tadeo lifted his head.

"Oh, hey Naramai." He sighed and looked towards Blan.

"Blan can't seem to pick up the fact that you throw a knife with your fingers holding the blade, not your whole damn bloody hand…idiot." Blan looked toward Naramai, still red in the face.

"What are you doing in my father's shop? Who said you could be there?" He turned back towards Tadeo.

"You're a horrible teacher anyways, you don't listen to a thing I say!" Tadeo grew angry, Naramai could always tell when he was angry by the way he furled his eyebrows so tightly.

"You should be listening to me! I'm the one who knows how to do this! Simple directions! You can't even listen to those!" Tadeo grabbed the last knife from Blan's hands, and pushed him aside.

"Look, this is how you do it." He tossed the small knife in the air and grabbed the sharp end of the blade, quickly throwing it at the barrel. The knife landed directly in the center of the "X", a perfect shot. He turned back towards Blan.

"That's how it's done." Naramai laughed at the sight of Blan's astounded face. He turned around.

"What's your problem? He cheated anyways, give me those knives." Tadeo smiled.

"Ah yes, of course I cheated." Blan walked over to the barrel, about to pull it out of the wood, when it began to glow and came out itself. It hovered over his head, dancing and twirling. He started to reach for one of the others, but it too started to glow and lifted off the ground to join the other knife. Blan looked to see Naramai smiling, flicking her hand around, guiding the knives.

"You little spirit freak. Give them back!" Naramai lifted the other off the ground and moved her arms in a circling motion, causing the knives to follow, spinning around Blan at a fast pace.

"Hey, hey, stop it! Tadeo tell her to stop!" Tadeo smiled at the nervous Blan, his chubby body not wanting to get scratched by the sharp knives.

"Why? Maybe now you'll start listening to me, Naramai could just poke you with one of those, a nice little scratch." Naramai smiled and spun her arms faster, bringing her arms closer together, and the knives came closer to Blan's body.

"Watch it! Come on, let me out!" Tadeo sat by the fence, twirling a blade of grass between his fingers.

"Say the magic word." Blan grew red in the face, his arms close to his side, so as not to be nicked.

"Never, not to a little servant like you and not to a stupid good for nothing witch like her. No wonder her parents gave her up, she's a stupid little witch! You hear me?! A damn witch!" He looked toward both of them and spit. Naramai threw her arms down to her side causing the knives to pierce the ground, sticking up like flowers. She jumped throw the large window and began to run toward Blan.

"What did you call me? A witch?! A good for nothing witch?! You haven't seen witch! I'll show you witch!" She lifted her hands, and brought them together, as if holding a small ball. Tadeo stood up, dropping his blade of grass; he knew Naramai had little control. Blan took a step back curiously frightened as to what this little witch girl was doing, but still with disgust on his face. Naramai clenched her muscles and screamed, and an orb of light filled her hands, and began oozing out through her fingers. Tadeo started to run towards her.

"Don't do that Naramai! Don't!" As the light grew bigger Naramai opened her cupped hands wider, allowing the orb to grow. Tadeo could see nothing through the orb, pure light, as if darkness had been taken from that small patch between her hands. Naramai brought the orb to her side with both hands, about to release it on the frightened Blan. A smile crept onto her face. It was not the same one Tadeo had always seen, that little child like smile; no it looked so demonic now. Tadeo grabbed her wrist, the light slowly creeping up his hand. Naramai bent her head, no longer smiling.

"Let me go Tadeo. This selfish pig has pushed me far enough." Blan began to sweat even more, and he slowly backed off with tiny steps.

"Naramai, he's not worth it. He'll never be worth it." Naramai looked towards the sweating boy, still looking like a scared rabbit, still trying to back away, still the same selfish bastard. She screamed, letting her frustration out and pushed her arms forward sending the light flying.

A black, shadow like smoke began to rise from the grass. It wafted into the air. The grass beneath it was brown and weakly bent over. Blan sighed; thankful the patch of grass was not his body, crumpled and destroyed. He smiled toward the angered girl.

"Don't think my father won't hear of this. You may have just cost Tadeo his job, stupid witch." Naramai alarmingly looked towards her friend's face. It lay unmoved; he would only stare at Blan, who began to smile.

"Unless of course the little _witch_ apologized." The way he said that word: witch. _That pile of grass should be him! _Naramai clenched her fists; she wanted to so badly hurt him, the selfish babied pig. She looked again towards Tadeo's emotionless face, remembering what he had told her so long ago.

"_I want to get out Naramai. There's something out there. More than just little villages like this. Cities, deserts, mountains, rivers. I can't stay here forever, I can't stay in this village. When I can get enough money, I…I want to go. See the world. Experience life. A tradesman's helper is no life. I want to set my own two feet onto my own unknown."_ It was what he had always wanted. Freedom. She relaxed her hands and looked towards Blan.

"I…I'm sorry…Blan." Each word felt like juggling lead in her mouth, a horribly difficult sentence to utter. Blan walked towards her, still with a stupid grin on his face.

"And what else?" Her face tightened.

"What do you mean what else?!" Blan grinned even more.

"Who is the smartest, handsomest, strongest, most brilliant man in the entire world?" Tadeo couldn't help but smile at the sight of Naramai's disgusted face. She clenched her teeth.

"You…you little" she sighed, "…you are." Blan patted her head like a newly trained dog and smiled.

"There see that wasn't so hard little witch." Naramai smacked his sweaty hand off her head. Tadeo grabbed her shoulders as she stepped forward and whispered softly into her ear.

"Let's not undo what we just did." Naramai angrily looked towards Blan and lifted her hand. She thrust her arm above her head and the knives emerged from the ground, glowing as before. She flicked her wrist and they came to her body, obediently as ever. Tadeo grabbed them from the air placing them in his belt and Naramai began to walk away.

"Naramai, I have to stay here a while longer. You know, mid the shop and all, but maybe we can meet up later!" Naramai turned and nodded. She stormed off, muttering to herself. Blan folded his arms, watching her walk off.

"Who does she think she is? Stupid little witch. Why in the world would you pick a friend like her? But I guess I can't expect much, you just being my father's serv…" Tadeo quickly grabbed one of his knives and held it to Blan's chubby stomach.

"I'd stop talking right now." Blan pushed away Tadeo's hand.

"You can't hurt me." He started to walk away, looking as proud as ever, like he believed he was king.

"I don't want you as my teacher. I don't know why my father says you're so good; I'll tell him I want a new teacher, one with skill. I'm going now, go and sit in the shop like the servant scum you are." Tadeo clenched his knife, he wanted it to put it right through the boy's head, but he knew he couldn't, and his wishful thoughts ended as Blan disappeared behind the shop.

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The early evening sun was hot this time of day. The beginning of its goodbye, it's setting in the sky. Tadeo wondered if the setting sun looked different any where else in the world, maybe it did. He untied a small pouch tied around his belt and placed it in his hand, hearing the small jingle.

"It's been six years, six long years." He reached his other hand into the pouch and lifted small coins form within. They sparkled, the sun light hitting them, casting their shine.

"Six years is too long, much less sixteen." He placed the shining coins back into the pouch and tied it back on his belt. Walking back to the shop, Tadeo pulled himself up to the window and climbed over. He looked around the shop he had come to learn as his second home. So many treasures, trinkets, and precious findings, and as Demiscus had said, not all achieved fairly. Statues, masks, shields, colorful outfits, jewelry, anything and everything. The shop was almost always only a place for the wealthy; few things were affordable to the poorer citizens, but in the end, what in this world really _was_ available to the poor? Tadeo walked over to a stand, necklaces and bracelets all dangling down. Some with precious jewels, others simple and plain. He looked through the assortment and picked one off the end. A necklace with a simple brown cord and a small leaf carved out of wood encircling a polished stone. A simple stone, little in value, but it was shined to brilliance. He placed it in the same small pouch, smiling.

"Perfect." He plucked two small coins from the pouch and set them on the small counter.

"Six years of service will pay for the rest." He turned to see out the window, that the sun once again was setting behind the treetops. A red color began to fill the sky as it always had for thousands of years and hopefully would for thousands of years to come. Tadeo closed the window and locked the door as he made his way out of the shop. The dirt street was beginning to fill with people as they made there ways home. A young mother was walking, carrying a heavy basket of laundry, with her small child jumping along side her. Two old men were laughing and wiping tears from their eyes, patting each other on the back. The mayor's daughter herself walked by with two other girls, all giggling and smiling, each of them dressed in fancy clothes and glistening jewelry. The mayor's daughter, Lumi, stopped and waved towards Tadeo.

"Hi Tadeo! Are you all finished for the day? Oh I know! Why don't you come with us! You've probably been working hard all day…" Tadeo looked past the group of girls, down the dirt road.

"Um, sorry Lumi, I uh, I actually have something to do right now, but maybe next time." Lumi's face hinted in disappointment, but continued to smile.

"Oh well, yes, next time then!" The other girls poked her and giggled as they began to run off. Tadeo walked past the road, crossing the grass in between huts and houses, towards the brook. _She'll be there. Like always. Probably thinking up some way to murder Blan._ As he came to the edge of the huts, he could see the small brook ahead of him in the distance and the little figure of Naramai lying on the grass with her feet in the water and her arms over her eyes.

Naramai could hear the soft tread of footsteps behind her. She sat up and turned to see Tadeo walking towards her. He had a small smile, but a smile nonetheless, a curious facial expression for the day's events. She pushed her hair behind her ear as Tadeo walked next to her and sat down, her eyes still staring at the water.

"So how was it? It looks like you survived un-damaged." Tadeo smiled and plucked a blade of grass.

"I'm through with Blan. No more teaching from my part." The two could see hints of deep blue in the sky, as the sun continued to set. Naramai moved her feet around in the water, and Tadeo sighed.

"I'm through with all of this really." He began to twirl the blade of grass in his fingers.

"Six years is long enough I think." Naramai looked alarmed towards her friend. She knew this would come one day.

"Tadeo, you…you don't really mean to go now?" He threw the grass into the water, watching it float down pass the toddies.

"No, not now, but soon. The world is calling my name Naramai, and I need to answer it soon." Naramai toyed with the small toddies in the water, circling her toes around them. Did he really think she'd wanted this life? Just another healer mending wounds and nurturing the sick. Of course there could be greater things out there, but maybe, just maybe you were meant to stay where you were. Stay where it was safe, where it was comfortable. It took strength to leave, but Naramai didn't know if Tadeo had the strength to survive, to just…live.

"Six years isn't long enough for some of us, Tadeo, how can it be long enough for you?" She brought her knees up to her chin, and wrapped her arms around her legs, feeling the cooling sensation of the brook water. "What am I going to do without you?" Tadeo smiled.

"You'll do fine. We all have our own lives, you'll find yours. There are plenty of guys out there wishing for a girl like you to make a life with, one of them will be lucky enough to be with you." Naramai faced him and raised her eyebrow. Tadeo reached into his pouch and pulled out the necklace.

"Here, I got this for you. I don't know when I'll be leaving, tomorrow, the next day, in another week, but I want you to have this before I go." He lifted her hand and placed the necklace into her palm. Naramai looked at the small gift, the last of the light glistened on the stone. She looked at Tadeo, and embraced him. Her arms wound around his neck, the necklace dangling from her hand. She could only whisper, her throat felt choked.

"Six years isn't long enough for me." Tadeo smiled and embraced her as well.

"I told you, you'll do fine, you don't need me." The one thing that was painful, everything else was so easy and simple, with no regrets, but this was different, the one regret. Naramai held back tears. _It's too soon, too soon!_ The last colors of red sank behind the trees, and darkness began to take over the sky. The crickets began to play their tunes and Naramai pulled away, still clutching the necklace.

"You're really leaving." Tadeo pulled her up.

"I'm sorry, but, you…you're going to be fine without me, I promise. We all have different lives, stay here and help Hersha." The wrong words, just words to fill the silence, words that tried to be comforting but just couldn't. Tadeo tried to smile, but his face would not obey. He began to walk away when Naramai ran up to him.

"Tadeo, promise me, promise me you'll stay at least one more day." Tadeo turned and nodded.

"Promise, at least one more day." Naramai smiled and watched her friend walk back into the village, thankful that it wouldn't be the last time to see him.

As Naramai pulled the necklace over her head, silver eyes appeared from behind one of the many branches of the nearby Okai tree. A small beak appeared next, revealing a black and grey hawk perched on the tree. It observed the girl as she walked away into the village.

"Perfect," It murmured to itself, "no little boy to get in the way."

Naramai continued to walk back to her home, the cool night air surrounding her. As she neared the healing hut, she could feel something wrong. Her heart began to race and her body felt horribly wrong. She ran into the healing hut, thrusting aside the curtain door. Nothing seemed out of place, but she continued to look around, Hersha was no where to be seen.

"Hersha! Hersha where are you?" The feeling grew worse, even though she could see nothing wrong. She climbed the ladder, breathing heavily.

"Hersha?" As she reached the top, she trembled. Old Hersha lay on the bed with her hands folded on her chest. _She's just sleeping. Just…sleeping._ Naramai ran to the bed and touched the old woman.

"Hersha…wake…wake up!" She touched her arm, limp and cold. It fell to the old woman's side.

"No…" Naramai fell to her knees. Tears hit the floor as she cried.

"No Hersha!" She tried to stop crying, but only more came, trickling down her face. Her hands tried to hold back the tears, but it was no use. _She knew. She knew she was going…she's gone._ She again put her face in her hands as another rush of the situation took hold of her emotions; she just was trying to stop, trying to calm down.

"Why did you have to go?" She could only repeat this over and over again. More tears hit the floor, as she remembered what Hersha had told her, _I have some important things to talk to you about._

"She's gone…she'll never tell me…anything…" She could hardly talk between her sobs.

Hours passed. Naramai's face was covered in sticky trials of dried tears. The floor was damp, and a small puddle had formed over her grieving. She still sat hunched over on the floor wiping the last of her tears away and stood up. Hersha's face was as calm as usual, as it had always been. Naramai couldn't stand to look any longer, for fear of crying again. She turned to her own bed and saw a piece of parchment rolled up on it. She looked back towards Hersha, knowing it could only be from her, and slowly picked up the parchment. As she unrolled it she could see the first line.

_My Dearest Naramai,_

_Please do not worry; this is what is meant to be. I love you very much and always will. I have set up a marriage for you, so you will be taken care of… _


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

"Marriage?!" Naramai's breathe began to quicken, she felt light headed as the single word mocked her in her mind. She didn't know what to think, besides the demand she felt she could never fulfill. She crushed the paper between her hands and slowly sank onto her bed, looking over to see the deceased woman.

"But Hersha I…" Naramai remembered that no words could have been heard, no matter how pleading, Hersha would never hear again. More hot tears began to build up in her eyes, but she quickly gained control of herself and threw the wadded paper letter to the floor. _More time for her letter later, I need to get her out of here!_ Naramai could remember the stories Hersha would tell her of long ago, tales of how the deceased would never make it to the realm of the spirits if the burial wasn't complete by dawn. Light would strike their bodies, diminishing any chance of the deceased to make it to the spirits' land. She could remember how Hersha would enlighten her with stories of the "forgotten ones" roaming, always trying to leave this world to get to the next. The burial process was never pleasing to behold, but it was crucial. She looked over to her mother-figure, now lying calmly on the bed, unmoving. Naramai forced herself to walk over to the old woman, holding back tears. As she touched the woman's cold skin a shiver ran through her body, like death's cold hands were touching her, but thoughts of what was shortly to come only made the feeling worse. _I have to get her outside, it must be outside._

The body was heavy, heavier than Naramai expected, she struggled to pull the blanket that Hersha lay on off the bed. Her hands began to sweat as she finally pulled the load off the bed, the body in the sheet. Hot tears struck another blow to her eyes, as she heard the "thump" of the body hit the floor. The body looked like just a bundle as it was dragged across the floor and past the beds, like a simple pile of laundry. _Why didn't she tell me? No warning at all…nothing._ Naramai tied the sheet ends together at both sides and struggled to lower the body to the next floor. At the sound of another "thump", the tears began to flow again, hitting the sheet and dampening it below. _Stop it! Stop it now!_ Naramai closed her eyes shut; trying to stop, and once again she could feel drying trails of tears on her cheeks. She climbed down the ladder and continued to drag the body across the floor, past all the vials and bottles, the tables and herbs, things never to be touched again by Hersha's old wrinkled skin. The moon was high above in the sky as Naramai was at last able to drag the body out of the hut. A cold nipping breeze blew by, as if a messenger of bad tidings, though this messenger was late. No lonely stranglers were out wondering through the village, all doors shut closed, no sounds made from the people inside, only a girl and a body were out at the late hour. The breeze began to pick up speed as Naramai dragged the body to the side of the hut, a small herb garden flourishing on the ground. Her arms grew sore and her face was covered with the hot sticky trials of dried tears. As she dragged the body next to the herbs, she fell to her knees. She only could imagine the process to come; her body began to shake as she imagined the sight. _Night will be over soon, you have to hurry!_ Any onlookers would have seen a bent over girl, silently moving the dirt away, creating a ditch next to the crumpled body. They may have heard a soft whimper as tears fell to her hands, covered in the rich dark earth. The onlookers would not have questioned why, when the girl struggled, but eventually pulled the body into the small ditch in the ground. As the girl ran inside, they would have braced themselves for what was to come.

A small fire was still burning inside the small oven. Naramai was now weeping as she tied a small cloth around her hand and reached into the oven, extracting a small charred log, still burning on one end. She paused, and looked at the fire chewing away at the wood, eating the already blackened log. Walking to one of the many tables, she picked up a small knife, one Hersha always used for chopping herbs. The fire's light danced of the blade.

"I don't want to do this…" She could feel the heat from the fire and held the log far from her face. She slowly walked to the curtain, wondering why the spirits would be so cruel, and walked back out into the moonlight. Maybe life was supposed to be cruel, but there was no time to think, for night was drawing to a close. No sign of the sun yet, but the moon was about to give its farewell. Naramai walked around to the side of the hut, she could see the low ditch and Old Hersha inside. She kneeled down, in front of the ditch placing the knife to her side, and with her one free hand, ripped the sheet of the woman. A blank staring face once again looked back at her, its eyes glazed over. Naramai threw the sheet to the side and bent down to touch her mother-figure one last time.

"Let the realm of the spirits be nicer than this one, Hersha." Grabbing the knife she closed her eyes as she plunged it into the woman's soft skin, and she couldn't see the blood turning the woman's clothing a deep shade of red. She let out a quiet deathly wail as she tossed the fire onto the body. She looked away as the fire spread over the deceased. It was just eating away, charring her skin and soaking up the blood. Naramai could smell the sick cursed smell of a charred body, and smoke began to rise into the air from the ditch. She stood up; her eyes blurred with tears and stumbled back, away from the burial, making sure not to observe the sight. She couldn't speak, couldn't look, she could hardly breathe, as she once again became an orphan. A horrible reality, to young to be off on her own, to old to find another care taker, she was just an orphan.

The smell wafted through the air, carried by the cold breeze and the smoke rose into the sky over the hut. The moon continued to loose its light as morning dawn approached. Naramai wept as she walked back into the hut, the pain of death hanging over her.

She climbed the ladder back to the room, where misfortune had first shown itself. She collapsed onto her bed, thoughts racing through her mind like a swarm of bees. The smell wafted its way through the small window in the room, making her sick to her stomach. Her face was distorted in disgust as the smell reached her nose and she quickly covered her it with her hand. _I have to get out of here._ She grabbed the letter she had previously discarded, and left the hut, running on her way out, as if way to leave the memories behind.

A faint small line of yellow could be seen over the treetops. Naramai kept on running away from the hut, away from the ditch, the smoke, the smell. The moon was disappearing into the oncoming morning sky, as she ran past the other huts. Clutching the letter she breathed a sigh of relief as she neared the brook, a place to wash away the late night's remembrances. Collapsing at the edge of the brook she couldn't help but smile, like she was getting reacquainted with an old friend. Shoving the crumpled letter into her pocket, she cupped her hands and let the water flow into them, and splashed the cool water onto her face, letting it wash away the trail of tears. With every splash of the water onto her pale face she drained out the thoughts of the night, her dragging the body, the ditch, the fire. The cool water seemed to replace the tears, she felt she had none left, only the cool brook water washed over her face now. As she had done so many times before when her life had moments of despair, she placed her feet in the water and placed her head on the bank grass. Trying to calm herself down, she closed her eyes, but her heavy breathing continued. She couldn't erase the truth that Hersha was gone, that Tadeo was leaving and that she was to be married. A child might have been able to be soothed by something as simple as the brook, but with her age and her situation, the brook was hardly a solution. On remembering the marriage, she pulled the letter out of her pocket, un-crumpling it slowly, afraid to continue reading, like a secret she didn't want to be a part of. She could see Hersha had written a lot down; she must have wanted to tell her many things. Naramai sat up, and smoothed the letter over her skirt, and began to continue reading the letter…

_I know marriage isn't what you feel you need at the moment, but please follow my wishes; I want to make sure you are taken care of. I have arranged for you to be married with Blan. His father and I have already discussed it, and he is happy to take you into his family, he would want nothing better than for you to marry his son. Please understand, Blan will have enough money to support a family with you, and you will be taken care of, I only want the best for you, you must know that, and Blan can provide it... _

Naramai stared at the letter in disbelief; so many emotions were suffocating her, choking her throat. The letter crumpled in her hands as she hoarsely screamed in anger. Thinking of what the letter had really said, her anger grew.

"Blan?!" She pulled her feet out of the water, stood up, and began to run back to the healing hut. She was breathing even heavier, now anger mixed into her assortment of feelings. Her feet hit the ground hard as she ran back to the hut. Stopping a few feet from the ditch she threw the letter to the ground.

"Blan?! Do you even know what he thinks of me?!" Naramai was screaming toward the ditch, though all that was left was a mangled, distorted body.

"How could you do that?! A witch! Witch! That's what he thinks of me! Marriage?! How could you do this to me?! You didn't even tell me this would happen!" People began to peek their tired heads out through doors, curious as to what the commotion was. They could only see Naramai screaming with the likes they had never heard before towards a small hole in the ground. Naramai closed her hands into fists.

"Did you even think as to what I wanted?! I don't want a marriage! I will never want Blan! How could you! You never told me…ANYTHING!" Leftover tears began to rush down her cheeks as she yelled toward the charred body, her fists still tightened. Small children slowly walked out of houses nearby, only to be pulled back by their mothers. Naramai spun her head around to see she had spectators, all peeking like cowards out of their doors. Her face was hot with anger, she knew she couldn't stay there any longer, too many questions would be asked, too many frightful looks. _I have nothing left! Nothing!_ She took off past the other houses and huts, no longer crying, and ran through the brook causing the water to splash onto her bare legs, chilling them. She slowed down, just clutching her body and choking out small sobs as she made her way up the hill.

One of the mothers peeking out of the houses pushed back her uncombed hair, still surprised by the young girl's screams. "What in the spirits' names was that?" A young boy ran out of the hut, past his mother's skirt, as he saw Naramai run away, his mother trying to pull him back inside, but failing. He was too quick for her hands and ran off down the dirt road to the other side of the village. He ran with impressive speed, speeding past hut and house alike as he ran away from his mother's calls. Pumping his arms, with a determined look on his face, he ran past Demiscus' shop, his feet smacking against the dirt. Running past the mayor's house, he could see three girls whispering amongst themselves, and the boy continued running. The dirt road began to wither into nothingness as the boy caught a glimpse of his destination. A small hut, made of bark pieces lay in the sparsely grass filled field outside of the village, a place where the gnole cattle used to feed. The hut was hardly big enough for one of the old gnole cattle to fit into and it looked as if it could collapse at any given moment.

"Tadeo! Tadeo come out!" The boy breathed loudly as he slowed his pace and stopped in front of the hut.

"Please Tadeo, come out!" A large piece of bark was pushed aside, an arm roughly pushing it to the ground. Tadeo slowly emerged from the hut pushing his hand through his hair.

"I'm right here, no need to shout." He placed the bark back into place and stretched his arms wide, yawning.

"What's the matter? You didn't hurt yourself with a knife again did you?" The boy began to hop on his toes.

"No, not today," Tadeo smiled at the young boy's energy , "its something else. Something is wrong with Naramai." Tadeo frowned.

"We all have bad days…" The boy began to fling his arms in excitement.

"No! Tadeo, she was screaming at…at…a burial hole, I forget what they're called, but she was screaming something about Blan and marriage right to the hole! I think she was crying too. Then she just ran off, my mom, and a whole bunch of other people, were starring but they didn't do anything." Tadeo bent down to look the boy square in the face.

"Letiar, are you positive it was a…burial hole?" The boy starred right back into Tadeo's own eyes.

"Uh-huh, it even smelled like one, what do you think happened?" Tadeo stood back up; he didn't want to think what could have happened. He patted the boy on his back; the boy would soon be as tall as Tadeo himself, though he was still years younger.

"I'm glad you told me, here, I'll help you out with your throwing later on, promise." The boy's face grew into a big smile.

"Thanks Tadeo, but, what are you going to do about Naramai?" Tadeo didn't want to think about what had probably happened, his own desires felt selfish now compared to this.

"I'll go…see what happened. Go back home though, and tell the other kids to stay away from the healing hut; no one should go around there."

He knew what had happened, but he didn't want to believe it. Running down the dirt road, every step taunted him, every slap of his foot against the dirt, "dead", "dead", "dead". As he neared the edge of the village, he could already smell the sickening waft of smoke, still rising in the air. He couldn't move for a moment, as he stopped in front of the healing hut. He didn't want to find out that his assumptions were true. But there was the ditch, Letiar had been right, it was a burial hole. As his feet shuffled across the grass, his mind still taunted him, and with every shuffle, "deathhhh", "deathhhh", "deathhhh". He finally gave into the taunts and glanced into the pit. All that were left were bones, charred and still smoking, some had even crumpled away. It was the one of the few times in his life where it felt so horrible to be so right. Hersha was gone, passed on into the spirits' realm, hopefully. He fell to his knees, the smell intoxicating his body, and the images of what Naramai would have to have done cluttering his mind. As his hands fell to his sides, he could feel crumpled paper underneath. _What? Paper is too expensive to be floating around._ Curiosity got the best of him and he began to read the first lines of scribbled handwriting.

"Aw' no." He put his hands back to the ground and looked up toward the sky and the passing clouds.

"Hersha, Hersha, Hersha…what did you do?" Of course no reply, the clouds just continued to move on. Naramai would already be devastated, but he didn't know how she would be able to handle this marriage.

"I got to go find her." As he stood up, he could see Blan, storming off past the nearby huts. His expression looked curiously determined, a rare site, Blan never put effort into anything, much less pure determination. Tadeo crumpled the paper and shoved it into his pouch, shaking his head.

"Who says wisdom comes with age? Stupid, stupid, stupid…stupid woman." If the situation hadn't been so horrible, Tadeo could have laughed, this was Blan after all, idiotic pig of the world, and a spoiled bastard. No girl should ever be promised to him, least of all his friend. _Naramai won't stand for this. Who would? _Tadeo then realized the gravity of the situation had just grown and looked nervously toward the hills. _She's going to run._ Some of the braver, more outspoken girls would leave their homes when promised to a marriage they would not agree too. A few girls had left the village through the course of the years, never seen again, their mothers left grieving, always wondering if they had died somewhere. _Hypocrite! Your about to run yourself, with far fairer circumstances, and you blame her for leaving?! But Naramai won't know how to live on her own…not many would want to give shelter or simple help to…her kind._ Too true. He only feared that maybe…maybe she wouldn't mind suffering, even dying on her own if it meant living her own free life; that would be the path he would take. He glanced one last time to the smoking pit, shaking his head.

"Hersha you fool…"

Clouds began to block the sunlight, turning the sky a grim shade of gray. The summer rains were coming early this year. Naramai continued to walk through the sun dried grass, the blades softly touching the calves of her legs. The brook was far behind her now, and the hills began to grow larger in size. Steep ledges of dirt and rock could be seen in the distance, far from the brook, even far from the Okai forest. Naramai only continued to clutch herself as she walked; it was all she could do. As she walked farther and farther from the village, she slowed her pace. Her mind and emotions were toying with her.

_No! No, you must go on. Move! Pick up the pace! _

_Oh, and where do you think you're headed to? Hmm? Those ledges? You'll survive for sure. Go back you fool, unless you plan to die out here. The world won't care about you, so go back._

_No, move on! Just keep going. There's nothing left there, you'll find something, but you mustn't stop, and never turn back! Never!_

_Turn back!_

_Never! Never go back ever again! Ever! Just move!_

It was horrible. Her heart and mind has lost contact with each other and were telling her different things. It was all she could think, what to do, oh what to do. But she thought of being forced to have children with Blan, and shuttered. Her pace regained its speed.

_Good girl! _

_Idiot…you must go back!_

No she had made up her mind. Maybe if Hersha were still here, maybe she would have stayed, maybe. But she was gone now, and Naramai had nothing left, even Tadeo would be leaving. She abruptly stopped. A regret, why did she have to think of a regret? She had never said goodbye, yes Tadeo had told her he would be leaving and gave her a farewell after a fashion, but…no it would eat away at her if she could never see him again, or at least not give one last goodbye. The clouds began to thicken, the sky becoming a mass of gray. Naramai couldn't move on, her body received too many messages all demanding different things, and she couldn't take it. _Ha! I won't move at all, neither forwards nor back, so stop bothering me!_ Sitting in the grass she just stared at the gray sky, was Hersha being accepted into the spirit world? The clouds turning gray from soaking up her ashes, carrying her away? It didn't matter, all that was left of Hersha was a few bones.

Blan worked his way through the grass, it was irritating his skin as he clumsily took step after step.

"Damn witch, why's she all the way out here? Stupid grass…" He was dressed in fine clothing, as always, but had a length of rope crossed over his body, rolled and tied into a circle. Sweat poured off his face from the long march, and he cursed every step he had to take to find the girl. He turned his head to the right and caught a glimpse of a small figure huddled in the grass. He would have utterly missed it if he hadn't looked and had continued on. Pulling the rope over his head he smiled.

"Finally!"

Footsteps filled the silence in the long grass, and Naramai turned her head to see what was coming her way. She wouldn't be quite as angry if Tadeo had come, though she wanted to be alone, but her face lit up in horror as she saw the lump of fat and sweat marching towards her, holding a coil of rope as if a weapon. She stumbled as she tried to stand up, Blan was only a few feet away, and coming closer every second.

"What…what…" She couldn't even speak, didn't even know what to say.

"Shut up! You're coming home with me, whether I have to drag you there or not. Father says we're to be married, and wants you home! Can't believe he wants me with a stupid witch…" She still couldn't speak. She only wondered how he had found her, all the way out here, and what he planned to use the rope for.

"He wants grandchildren, as soon as he has them, consider yourself gone!" Her emotions slowly came back to her, and she pointed a shaky finger at the sweaty boy.

"Get…away from me. Get…away!" He only smirked and untied the knot on the rope, unfurling it.

"Knew you'd give it a fight. Me being so brilliant I brought just the thing." He lifted a piece of the rope, and stretched it between his hands.

"No! Get away from me! You don't even want me! Get _away_!" She was screaming now, and backing away slowly, further into the grass. She wouldn't fully stop, some of her only wanted to run, but she didn't begin to run either, some of her wanted to fight him, show him she couldn't be threatened.

He quickly threw the rope at her, as if he thought only the rope touching her would be enough to capture here. The rope had been tied in a knot at the end, and it hit Naramai's face, stinging. She stopped walking, she just wanted to hit him so badly, knock him out cold and watch his unmoving body. Blan was still walking towards her with the rope, and her hand curled into a fist.

He'd caught her hand. For a moment Naramai blinked only in disbelief as Blan caught her hand just moments before it hit his face. He smiled at his accomplishment and quickly began winding the rope around her wrist. Naramai began to flail her arm, reaching with the other to punch him, grab his hair, anything, and continued to scream.

"No! Let me go! Get off of me! Agh! Get off!" Blan blocked another punch with his arm, it hurt, but knew it was better than the pain in his head could have been, perhaps his fat was good for something after all. He quickly began to wind the rope onto her other arm, ignoring the pain in his legs as she kicked them.

"Blan get your damn hands off of her!" Tadeo came from over the hill and threw one of his knives through the air. Naramai and Blan alike cringed, hoping it would not hit them. It instead sliced through the rope between Blan and Naramai's bound wrists. Not taking a moment to think, Naramai took both hands, still loosely bound by the rope and struck Blan on the head, causing him to fall on the ground. Tadeo continued to run down the hill, through the tall grass shouting to Naramai.

"That was beautiful Naramai! Now get out of here!" But it was a moment too late. Blan expression was now of extreme anger and he grabbed hold tight of Naramai's ankle, and pulled her to the ground. She gave a small groan as her head hit the firm dirt, but that pain was matched by the blow from Blan's hand against her face.

"Stupid…ugly…_witch_!" With every foul word he hit her and his sweaty hands found their way around her neck and began to squeeze, so only the smallest amount of air could pass through her throat.

"_Naramai!_" Tadeo had reached the bottom of the hill, running faster than ever. Blan continued to squeeze, and Naramai felt a rush of anger making its ways throughout her body. She wanted to see Blan dead next to her, she could picture it. She began to struggle, but Blan quickly took a hand away and brought his hand to her face again, with brute force. Her whole face burned, and she could barely breathe. She struggled to kick, but he was sitting on top of her legs. Anger, that was all she could feel, it was burning through her body, on a rampage. As Blan tightened the grip around her throat once more, and she could no longer breathe, and her hand burst into pain.

"_Augh!"_ Her hand burned but she could also feel as if a liquid had been poured onto it. Blan's face looked as if a demon spirit had appeared before him and he loosened his grip, backing away from Naramai. Tadeo stood still a he saw Naramai clutching her arm to the stomach, bending over in pain, screaming. Blan took small baby like steps wondering what to do, but finally decided to walk forward with the rope, willing to take another attempt.

"You…no tricks! You're…you're coming home!" Naramai screamed just as Blan was about to through the rope around her. It ate Tadeo up, just having to listen to her pain. He could see blood on her entire arm, dripping down from her hand, soaking her shirt as she pressed her arm against it.

She looked up to Blan and yelled into his face, "You do not WANT ME!" Suddenly her bloody hand shot out in front of her. It was a hand, that image of a hand, but this time it was made out of blood. No longer glowing as before, but still in the shape of hand. Naramai screamed as blood shot out from the image on her hand, her eyes closed tight in pain, unable to witness the blood hitting Blan straight on. He screamed as the blood cut through him like knives, and he was tossed back into the grass, now bloody itself.

It was so painful. Naramai could feel the pain souring through her hand as the blood continued to gush out. Everything began to blur. She could hardly see Blan's motionless body, or Tadeo, just standing in the grass, next to Blan. But it stopped, it finally stopped. The bloody image disappeared from her hand, and pain began to subdue. Blood was still covering the grass, along with her hand and arm, but the pain had stopped. She began to shake, she only sat in the grass, her body shaking, not knowing what had just happened. But Blan didn't move at all. The grass was covered in blood and her face and throat still hurt. She could see clearly again, and Tadeo began to walk towards her, but at a slow, almost fearful pace. Still shaking she stood up, taking steps as if an infant, like she had forgotten how to walk. Her lips trembled and she quietly whispered to her self.

"He's…de…dead." Tadeo began to walk faster and caught up with the trembling girl. He didn't know what to say, she looked horrible, and so scared. Her face was red with small bruises, and her arms…there was just so much blood. Her lips were shaking with so much fear, and he could tell how weak she must have felt from the way she stumbled. He'd never stepped in so much blood before, the ground felt damp from it.

"Naramai…" He grabbed hold of her arms, but to his surprise she pulled away, her arms slippery in blood. She stumbled as she turned around, but began to run toward the rock ledges in the distance.

"Naramai!"

She continued to run, even with Tadeo calling her name. She couldn't think of anything, all her body knew how to do was run, so that's what she did. She continued to run through the grass, blood from her arm covering the blades. She felt so tired, she couldn't believe she was able to run, and she expected her legs to give out any moment. She had her eyes only focused on the rocky ledges ahead of her. But still, with every step, it pained her not to stop and run back to Tadeo.

"Naramai! _Naramai!_ You're going to kill yourself!" Tadeo continued to run after her, he was slowly catching up, but she just kept running. Even if he did lose sight of her, all he had to do was follow the trial of blood. He still felt chilled from touching Blan's limp body. Too many thoughts rushed through his head. _His father will be devastated…but Blan got what was coming to him. Wish I had been the one…I didn't know she was capable of…killing._ A small part of him wondered if maybe she had done it on purpose, though he wanted to believe it was an accident.

The grass was beginning to grow short, and it was only growing in patches now, with dirt and rock beginning to replace it. Naramai was stumbling her way through it all, and she began to slow down, running like a toddler. Tadeo looked behind him, he knew the village was far off now, and most of the day was gone. With the clouds growing larger, the sky was completely gray, dark and gray. Giving a last burst of energy, he was only a few paces behind his friend.

"Naramai…" She turned her head, surprised to see that Tadeo was just behind her, and tripped, falling to the ground. The sharp rocks hurt against her face and body, but she couldn't get back up, she no longer had the will or the strength. Tadeo collapsed by her side, and coaxed her body over, gently. He could see grip marks on her throat, light and pale, but still visible, and was even more disgusted with Blan.

"Is…he really…" Tadeo only nodded to her question; yes Blan was dead, though anyone besides the two would have seen it as murder. She shut her eyes, they were shut tight and she weakly shook her head side to side.

"I…I didn't…mean…it was an…accident…" tears began to form in the corners of her eyes, "…I killed…I killed him. I…took his life…how…" Tadeo felt angered with himself for even thinking Naramai could have done it on purpose, she was no killer, he knew that.

"I know. Naramai, I can't believe I'm saying this, but, we need to move on, we can't go back to the village. Don't move for now though, you just need to stay put. But we can't go back; the elders would have a field day with this." Naramai felt relieved, she was afraid Tadeo would want to take her back. They had both realized that every odd would be against her, the elders already disapproved of her for unspoken reasons.

The blood was beginning to dry on her arm, and he gently rubbed it off.

"I guess just…try to rest."

Evening was passing, though it hardly looked it from the clouds. There were no crickets or birds as there were back near the village. Only the cold sound of the breeze filled the silence as Naramai finally found sleep. The only movement from her part was the small rise and fall of her chest. Tadeo cleaned off the blood as best he could, but she still had the bruises. He knew they would have to find shelter, but he didn't want to wake her, at least not yet, just when she had fallen asleep. He wondered if anyone would come looking for them, if Demiscus would search for his son and daughter-to-be. He wondered too many things, what this cursed hand had to do with Naramai, why it had killed Blan, and as his mind began to drift off in thought, he began to wonder why Naramai was even here, why a person like her was alive. Were the spirits just having a bit of fun when they made her people, or was there some purpose? His thoughts drowned his mind, his eyelids slowly closing as if the thoughts were weighing them down, and he as well soon found sleep under the darkening sky.


	5. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Pieces of rock shuffled down the ledge, creating small dust clouds that floated into the air. The moon was high over head, but only a glimpse of it could be seen through the ever growing cloud cover, the rains were going to arrive soon. A small snout peeked out through a dry clump of dead grass followed by a pair of glowing green eyes, panning in on their target. The rest of the spectator emerged, revealing itself to the moonlight. A small wolf, not yet full grown, walked out of the grass from its hiding spot and jumped to the next ledge shuffling more rocks. Its tail flicked behind it at a steady beat, as if it were telling time. Though the moonlight was sparse and faint one could have seen the black and gray coat, unusual coloring for this part of the land. Though considered a beast, it jumped with impressive agility and grace from rock to rock, making its way down the steep ledge.

Naramai's eyes slowly opened, still weak from the day's events. It took her a few moments to see anything; the sky was so dark, with only the faint light of the covered moon. She looked up to see a bit of the large boulder next to her, over her head, as if a little roof. But instead of chipped rock and dirt underneath her she could feel the dry blades of grass from the hills. As she lightly touched the grass she smiled, Tadeo was a good friend, like a brother protecting his sister. Crawling out from the boulder like home she could see that they had moved closer to the ledges. The ledges…the edge of the map for Naramai. Beyond them could be oceans, towns, mountains, anything, she didn't know. Her whole life, only the village and the hills had been her map. Maybe Tadeo was excited by the unknown, an unfinished map waiting to be completed, but she felt nervous about the prospect of moving on. _Where is Tadeo anyways?_ She shot her head back, looking towards the boulder, almost expecting him to be sitting on top, maybe toying with his knives with that little smirk he always had when he played around with them, but he was no where to be seen.

"Tadeo?" She nervously called out to her friend. No response, just the silence of dead air. Clutching her arms from the midnight chill she took small steps, calling out her friend's name again. Still nothing. Suddenly a small drop of water surprised Naramai as it fell onto her nose. Another drop fell hitting the dirt and rocks.

"The rains…" Naramai reached out to touch the rain drops as more fell. The rains had come early this year. It was the only period of time during the summer where any rain would fall. It could rain for days, even a week, and then never again till fall. It usually was welcomed, saving dying crops, or saving throats from parchment, but it was too early for any real troubles to be solved; the rains were just too early. More drops continued to fall until it climaxed into a hard shower, the rains splattering from the hard ground onto Naramai's bare legs. Her clothes beginning to soak, she hurriedly ran back to the boulder hoping the small overhang would protect her from the rain. _Where is Tadeo?_ As she sat shivering on the dried grass she got a glimpse of the rocks to her side, tiny stones placed in the dirt.

"'OD'?" The rocks looked as if they had been placed in the shape of letters, clumsily written, but letters none the less.

"No… 'FOOD', food…what? Wait…food…'WOODS'. Food, woods? Ugh! Tadeo! Those stupid woods?!" She couldn't believe Tadeo would go back in there, not after what happened, he himself said the place was cursed. And he had left her under a rock, so she could just sit and wait. But he had had best intentions in mind, so Naramai decided she couldn't be too angry with him, she hadn't eaten for more than a day, and food would be welcome. And at least he had remembered how to write, she could still remember how she would teach him the simple words Old Hersha had taught her when they were young. She remembered how aggravated he got when he forgot how to spell a word, or how to read a certain sentence. She brought her knees up to her chin and stared at the rain falling onto the rocky ground. _Just come back soon…and safe._

A fool's errand. Going into the Okai woods was ridiculously idiotic at this time of night. Even in broad daylight it was almost impossible to tell where one was going, but now with an almost moonless night, it was sheer stupidity. As Tadeo walked further into the woods, he realized just how pointless his decision was. Even if he could have heard a creature, scuttling about in the undergrowth, he wouldn't be able to see it, much less kill it. He continued to trip over dead branches covering the floor and rocks covered in moss and dead leaves. _The noise you're making will scare anything near you anyways._ But as the rain slowly started to trickle down to the lowest level of the forest, Tadeo's mind began to fill with true worry. _Idiot. You tried to play hero and it bit back._ He had no sense of where he was in the massive forest, he had no idea how far he'd come or what way to leave. Only the smallest bit of moonlight shone onto the forest floor, utterly unhelpful. Suddenly a quite rustle perked Tadeo's ears, something had moved about near him on the ground, and hopefully it would be the last time it moved. As he slowly made his way in the direction of the sound, he shrieked as he fell to the ground, his face pressed into the moss and rotting leaves.

"Damn it!" He could hear the creature, whatever it was, scuttling away further into the forest, diminishing any hope Tadeo had to find a meal. As Tadeo pressed his hand to the ground to pick himself up, he felt a soft, almost cloth-like material under it. He could hardly see it in the darkness of the forest, but as he picked the object up to his face, he began to back away in fear, scuttling away like a scared hare. One of the flowers, ones that looked like stars fallen from the sky. No where else had Tadeo ever seen them, never in a garden or growing wild. No, these flowers only had one master, the pool. The damned pool. It had taken too much of a liking to his friend and had sucked her in. A cursed place made by angry spirits, it had to be. Even in the darkness he could see through the opening in the trees the soft moonlight coming down from the skies, hitting the secluded area. So calm, peaceful even, but he knew its true nature, what it was really capable of. _At least you know where you are now, so just get out of here._ As he stood up and began to brush the dirt and leaves of his clothes, his ears perked. The sound was so quiet, barley audible, but it was there. A small ripple, like someone had thrown a pebble into the pool of water. He began to draw one of his knives, hoping a hare or black climmit was drinking from the water, unaware of his presence. But another ripple could be heard, louder this time, a small creature could not make this much noise simply drinking could it? Every second it took for Tadeo to face the secluded spring, the sounds of the ripples grew louder, fiercer, quicker every time. It was no animal.

The rain continued to pour, rain drops dripping off the edge of the small boulder, hitting the ground making their own small little music. Naramai was throwing small pebbles and rocks into the rain soaked ground, from underneath her little shelter. A boring form of entertainment for her already bored mind. It was growing colder every minute, and she began to cough as she shivered. The grip marks still hurt. Her fingers gently touched her throat, feeling the last literal mark Blan ever put on the earth. Every so often she thought she could hear the voices of the adults searching for Blan, or for his killer. She could picture men pulling her out from under the boulder, screaming in rejoice for finding the murderer. The ground was beginning to soak underneath her grass bed; Naramai didn't know how much longer she could wait. The idea of chasing after Tadeo, going out to search for him in the woods, had bounced around her head so many times, colliding with the thoughts of the vicious search parties. Different ideas of what could have happened to him cluttered her mind, from images of her friend fighting with a dangerous beast to Tadeo being lost in the dangerous woods, circling the forest floor.

"Maybe…maybe I should go. Maybe he really is in trouble. Ugh, Tadeo, if you aren't hurt when I find you…you will be afterwards." She knew it was dangerous and foolish to wander into those woods, there was only a little chance of actually finding Tadeo, but just sitting under the rock waiting wouldn't help him either. As she crawled out from underneath the boulder, her eyes squinted from the heavy pour of rain beating on her face, she could hear a peculiar sound. Almost like a waterfall, hitting the rocks below it, strong and powerful. It wasn't the sound of rain hitting the rocky ground, rain was softer and crisp, this sound was so different. Standing up and pushing the wet strands of hair out of her eyes, she looked ahead to the tree line of the woods, searching for the maker of the mysterious sound.

The column of water rose into the air with unimaginable speed, rushing towards the skies from the small pool. A fine mist from the rush of water sprayed Tadeo as he fearfully stepped back from the pool's explosion. He couldn't scream or run, he was transfixed on watching the column rise into the air, but feared it all the same. Backing into a tree, he continued to stare at the spectacle, the frightening, spellbinding spectacle.

Naramai didn't know what to think, only a small gasp excreted from her lips. She had never in her life seen, or even heard of something like this. The water looked so powerful, just continuing to rise into the air, defying all logic.

"It's wonderful now, but just wait. Nothing really ever is completely and utterly perfect now is it?" Naramai slowly turned around to see where this voice had come from. Her lips began to quake as she saw no one behind her, only the raindrops hitting the ground.

"It's a shame to say this world has grown stupid. Thinking they can fool with spirits, play a little game with them, and hope they win. But I'm sure you're not like that, you respect them don't you…Naramai?" Naramai was truly frightened, who was speaking with her, had she gone mad? And…who knew her name? The way they had said her name, like they knew it would frighten her, it had worked.

"Who…who are you? Where…are you?" She began to turn in different directions, desperately searching for the speaker.

"Ah, well, we can get to your first question later I'm sure. But as for the second, I'm right here."

The voice was behind her, she slowly turned, raindrops falling of her quivering lips. Looking back towards the boulder, she could see only a wolf, sitting quite quaintly on the stone, dripping with rain. Her eyes widened in fear and she stumbled backwards, screaming. The wolf only seemed to smile and stood up.

"Wha…what?! What are you?! Get away!" Beasts were not supposed to talk back to you and here was this wolf just calmly speaking to her, like it believed it was human itself.

"Please, I'm not going to eat you. But in case you are unaware of the situation, your friend is in trouble, or he will be at the least, and I rather not deal with you when you are traumatized. Truly sorry for the quick introduction, but we need to move. _Now_. And my word, what in the spirits name happened to you, you look like you fell off a cliff." It gracefully jumped off the boulder and to her side.

"What? No…just no! Get…get out of here! I don't know who you are and I don't care, just…scram beast!" She backed a few paces away from the wolf and quickly flicked her hands to the sky, bringing a few rocks from the ground, all glowing. The wolf took in a deep breath and sighed.

"Thank the spirits we don't have to start from scratch. Decent for some one with no proper teachings, but if you're done with your little fit now, we need to go." The wolf was small for its breed, but it still was quite large, its head just reaching her stomach. Naramai was so confused by what he was telling her, and angered that he thought she would be just willing to follow his orders.

"Leave me alone! I don't know why you can talk, you probably have a curse or something, and I…just…leave me alone!" She pushed her arms forward, the rocks following her motion, and they flew toward the wolf. It easily jumped to the side and looked toward her.

"Good, good, you have a will to fight. Most useful. But you listen to much to children's stories, silly girl. There are no such things as curses. Now I'm sorry if I seem rude but…" he began to run toward her and in a quick motion crawled under her legs, placing her on his back as she shrieked, "…we need to move quickly, time for introductions later, I promise." He burst off across the terrain, heading for the Okai woods. Naramai screamed and held fast to a clump of fur on his back.

"What are you doing?! Put me down! Stop it! Ugh, you stupid beast!" The cold rain stung her face as they moved across the rocky field. She could hardly the see as the column of water stopped rising into the air and began to spin and turn about in the sky.

"Look! Now if you please, shut up! Your friend won't last a chance if we don't get to him!" The wolf began to run faster, nearing the tree line of the Okai forest, it seemed to ignore the rain.

"What do you mean? Tadeo…what's happening to Tadeo?! And…and, how do you know he's in there?" Before the wolf could answer, the water disappeared from view, as if it had never been.

"See, nothing is wrong now, please put me down!" She was ready to kick the stupid beast, right in the gut. But it worried her at how much it seemed to worry about what was happening in the woods.

"You honestly don't believe that's it do you? This will be close, so hang on." Grass was beginning to grow again as they came closer and closer to the Okai forest. Just as the two disappeared into the dark world of the woods, consumed by the trees, a faint image began to reveal itself in the place of the water.

"Wolf! What…what's going on?! What was that?!" Naramai pulled on the wolf's coat as it jumped over logs and trekked through the cluttered ground.

"Ugh, please don't do that. I don't pull on your skin do I? You certainly seem to yell and scream quite a bit don't you?"

"Well excuse me! Of course I have no reason to scream, I mean, I've only been carried away by some talking wolf who tells me my friend is in danger, and a column of water rose from the air, and now something weird and freaky just appeared in its place! Don't you dare lecture me on screaming and yelling!" The wolf began to strangely laugh, almost between a human's laugh, and a wolf's bark.

"Wouldn't dare. Now, please could you shed a little light on this scene? Even for my talents it's quite difficult to see in this darkness."

"Hmph." Naramai angrily thrust her hand out in front of her, a little orb of light, dancing in the palm of her hand. She wanted to just stop and beat the wolf back to where ever it had come from, but if Tadeo truly was in danger, than finding him was more important than dealing with a stupid beast.

As the girl and wolf ventured farther into the woods, they could hear the loud sounds of trees hitting the forest floor, their incredible size seeming to shake the ground. Naramai found it hard to believe that a beast such as a wolf could have as much grace and agility as this one. It seemed to fly on the ground, speeding past Okai tree and thick vine alike. Naramai held on tight, amazed at its speed. Moments passed when she thought she could hear screams coming from further in the forest.

"Tadeo?! Come on wolf, faster!"

"Oh now you want to go, do you? I'm going as fast as I can, it'll only be moments. Now Naramai, please tell me, do you think soldiers have hearts?" Naramai was utterly confused by this question, what did a wolf care if a soldier had a heart?

"What are you talking about? Of course they do…every one does!"

"No, no, not an actual heart, but…" The wolf was cut short as one of the mighty trees began to fall, barley missing Naramai's hand. It was difficult to see in the dim light floating around on her palm, but there was no mistaking the distorted material moving about on the forest floor, where the tree had fallen. Naramai pointed to the figure as the wolf dodged around another falling tree.

"That?! What is _that_?! Turn around now! If you bring us one step closer…" She began to kick the wolf's sides with her feet, enraged by the wolf's need to put them in mortal danger.

"Augh! No kicking! That is a soldier!" The wolf began to follow after the moving image.

"That is no soldier! What do you think you're doing you crazy idiot! You turn around _now_!" She was clutching the wolf's fur even tighter from anger and fear, as he twisted around falling trees, trying to get closer to the 'soldier'.

"Ugh! No…that's a…soldier…from the spirits! It really is...a pity how stupid…this world has become. Ah…there is your little…friend now, what a fool…look at him." Naramai squinted her eyes to see a figure dodging falling trees, desperately trying to get out of the way of the clear, distorted spirit.

"_Tadeo!_ Over here! Come on wolf get him!"

"Demanding as well. I'm not a cart; I can barley run with you." The spirit halted its movement, trees cleared all around him. Naramai could see Tadeo scrambling over one of the fallen trees, one of his knives in his hands. Within moments, the wolf as well came to a halt in front of the massive spirit. With a small hop, it tossed the girl off it's back.

"Truly sorry, but you'd better attend to your friend. Keep in mind! This is a valuable learning experience, so paying close attention would be best." _Learning…experience?! _Naramai watched as the wolf charged toward the clear oozing liquid material, while she herself ran toward Tadeo.

----------

It was incredible, the spirit's size was unimaginable, its head reaching far into the sky. It was hard to tell if it truly was a head though, its body still seemed to be forming, and at the moment it looked disfigured, just a mess of clear, drippy, liquid. The wolf seemed to smile as it stopped short in front of the spirit, shaking its tale, like this was all a simple game he found amusing.

"Well don't you look scary? Ah, but you're not so scary now are you? No, just a stupid little messenger, here to give the world 'fare warning'." The spirit had obviously taken notice to the small wolf, as it began to slowly lower its arms towards it. Though large, it was not difficult for the wolf to gracefully jump out of the way.

"So you want to dance do you?" Naramai rolled her eyes at the wolf's un-amusing cockiness, as she ran across one of the fallen trees to her friend.

"Tadeo!" Her friend was still holding his knife, and he had perched him self on the fallen tree. As he slowly turned towards her, she could see his face was filled with confusion.

"Naramai? What are you doing here?!" Naramai looked over to still see the wolf smugly trotting around the slow spirit, but turned to point a finger in Tadeo's face, shaking it with anger.

"What are_ you_ doing here?! Did you really expect to find food in a place like this? At a _time_ like this? Ugh…we just need to…" Naramai shrieked as the spirit ran into the log, sending both her and Tadeo flying to the ground. Tadeo rubbed the back of his head as he stood up, and ran to help his friend to her feet. As he bent to reach for her arm, he could still see the marks on her neck, and scratches on her arms and legs, a sad reminder.

"Sorry Naramai, I just keep on screwing up." A branch was thrust over the fallen tree as Naramai stood up. She thrust out her hands only moments before it reached their bodies, and it began to glow, calmly hovering over the ground.

"Damn it! This thing is dying now!" Tadeo rushed over to the fallen tree, and began pulling himself up the branches.

"Tadeo! Wait!" She tried to pull him off the fallen tree he was climbing, but as always, he was too fast. All she could do was follow, pulling herself onto branches as she made her way to the top of the tree. As her eyes peeked over the top, she could see the wolf was beginning to grow bored with its little game.

"Had enough spirit? Want to stop dancing now?" But even more important, she saw Tadeo running towards the spirit, with his knife drawn.

"Oh you idiot," The wolf murmured and it began charging towards Tadeo, growling and barking.

"What the…" Tadeo turned to see the beast just as it crashed into him, thrusting him back into the decaying leaves of the forest floor. He could only catch a small glimpse of the wolf as it charged back towards the spirit, it seemed to want to hit it straight on.

"Naramai! Why don't we give this spirit a heart, hmm? Soldiers don't have hearts, so lets see how this one deals with it." Continuing to run towards the spirit, the wolf leaped into the air. The spirit was bending down slowly to try and grasp the wolf, but it was too late. It was only a moment before the wolf reached the chest of the spirit, when it opened its snout as if trying to bark, but no sound came out, only brilliant light, just spilling out. The light cut through the spirit's chest and it began to crumple, the clear oozing liquid falling to the ground. But a wolf did not pass through the decaying spirit body, only a boy tumbled through the air, slicing through the spirit's crumbling chest, just as the light did.

Naramai began to blink in disbelief as she watched the boy hit the ground on the other side of the disappearing spirit. Had he not been a wolf only moments ago? She slid down the hard bark of the tree, but feared to take any steps near the boy. Her heart was beating fiercely with fear, as the boy began to pick himself up.

"Wolf?" Her mouth could form the word but it danced quietly on the air, only a small murmur. The boy stood up straight, rubbing his shoulder, and smiled.

"No, not anymore…obviously. Ugh, stupid shoulder…" Tadeo walked calmly behind Naramai, his knife still drawn. He whispered quietly, so as only her ears could hear.

"Naramai, who is this?!" The boy looked up to see the whisperer. Naramai was astonished by the incredible similarity between the boy and Tadeo. The eyes, nose, mouth, everything was so similar; it was only his black hair that differentiated himself from Tadeo. It was incredibly dark, even darker than Naramai's own hair, and she thought she could see tiny streaks of gray, dull and dark, or maybe it was only the light. And his height, or lack there of in the boy's case. Naramai knew he must have been older than the both of them, but his body must not have gotten the message. His face was the only sign of his age, while his body could have tricked you into thinking him a young boy, just on the brink of becoming a man.

The boy began moving toward the two, as Tadeo stepped in front of his friend, throwing all three of his knives toward the boy.

"Tadeo!" Naramai grasped for his hand but it was too late, with Tadeo's speed, it was always too late. She could only watch as the boy's body was pinned to the tree behind him, an astounded look on his face. But it was overcome with relief as it was only his clothes that were struck. He looked to the ground chuckling.

"Idiot…you missed." Tadeo walked toward the tree.

"I never miss."

"Ah, so its information you want. Want to know who I am, what I'm doing here, yes, can't ask that when I'm dead. A bit smarter than you look, I'll give you that. The information you want, I'm more than willing to give. But if you may, the knives? Animals don't do so well when they're…caged." The knives began to glow, and wriggled their way out from the soft bark of the tree. They calmly floated in the air as Tadeo plucked each one and placed them onto his belt. Naramai walked up from behind her friend, and grabbed the boy's hand, bringing it to her face.

"Not so stupid yourself either. But you won't find that mark on my hand. Too much human blood going throw my veins for their…gift. I only have a little of their wonderful grace left." Tadeo was not pleased with the boy; he had pure disgust written all over his face.

"What are you talking about? What do you mean 'too much human blood'…what in the spirits name else would be in your body?!"

"This doesn't concern you at all. Or any human at all. All of you are so stupid, you think you run everything, think you can do whatever you want, without any consequences. I'm ashamed to have that blood going through me, Naramai is lucky though, her ancestors weren't so stupid."

"Look, wolf…I…I don't have any idea what you're talking about! What do you mean my ancestors? What do you mean too much human blood? And you…" she began to get excited and her arms flailed in the air, "what did you do?! You…you were a wolf! And…my name! How did you know my name…and Tadeo! How did you know we were friends and were he was?! And the spirit! How did you know how to kill it? And…and why do I need to know?! I don't know anything! And…just…who are you?!" The boy smiled, and started to laugh to himself. He shook his head, then looked toward the confused Naramai.

"The old woman didn't tell you anything, did she? Tadeo…" he paused and looked toward him, "you were right, I guess wisdom doesn't come with age, at least not for her." Tadeo quickly pulled one of the sharp blades to the boy's throat, gasping with anger.

"How'd you know I said that?" The boy only smiled, and opened his mouth, once again letting the light pour out. Tadeo and Naramai shielded their eyes, Tadeo screaming as he felt talons rip through his flesh. Naramai looked to see Tadeo clutching his hand to his chest, a small line of blood slowly dribbling down his arm. A bird's cry could be heard from above her head, and she looked up to see the mass of feathers going from tree to tree.

"Damn bird!" Tadeo plucked a small stone from the ground, and threw it into the air, missing his target.

"You never notice birds you know. We can simply sit on a roof, listening to whatever we please, and no one stops us. The element of surprise is with us always, quite fun really."

"STOP IT!" Naramai's hands were clenched together, light once again beginning to pour out from the cracks in her fingers. Her face gave away all the emotions running through her, especially her eyes. Tears were beginning to collect in them, though Naramai would not let them run down her cheeks.

"Stop it all right NOW! How dare you! If you are so sneaky and can just watch us all and know everything we have been doing…than…than…I bet you don't even know what its like to lose a mother! She was ALL I HAD! And NOW SHE'S GONE! How dare you just laugh at noticing…and…if you lay one more hand on Tadeo…I'll kill you! Just LEAVE US ALONE!" Tadeo glared at the bird, Naramai was right, if this boy knew every little thing that had happened, if he had always been watching, than…than he was a monster. He could see Naramai still shaking from yelling at the bird, he knew well enough she wanted to send the light right through his heart, anyone would.

"Naramai. Come one, we can only hope we never see him again. Lets just go." Her eyes were blurred, but she could still see the bird perched on one of the many branches of one of the Okai trees.

"You are a disgrace, truly a disgrace. You're just like a human, so self concerned. You took what you had for granted and thought nothing more of it."

"I _am_ human. I don't know what that thing was you just killed, and I don't care. I have nothing to do with it, so leave us alone. I'm sorry Tadeo…I'm an idiot, a stupid fool, lets…please lets just go." The small orb of light fell out of her hands onto the dead leaves, leaving only charred remains. As she turned around, light hit the trees in front of her.

"She did it herself." Naramai spun around to see the bird was now a boy again. A small bottle rolled out of his hands onto the forest floor. Empty. The bottle was so small. Just a little bottle.

"_Naramai dear! Come here for a moment!"_

"_Yes Hersha? Did I do something wrong? I…I didn't mean to break that bowl!"_

"_Please, I've broken hundreds. No, its something else. Naramai, do you see this bottle?"_

"_Uh-huh. Oh its so small. What…what is it? What does it cure?"_

"_On its own nothing, nothing at all. Mixed with just a little dreadlock leaves and sitherin powder it acts as an antidote for certain poisons."_

"_Poisons? What types?"_

"_That's not what's important. I'm sure you will never need to use it for that purpose, what it cures is quite rare. But…but Naramai look at me. You must never touch this, never open it. Please, never use this."_

"_But Hersha, it helps cure poison, what if…"_

"_No, with the other plants it does, it can be a lifesaver. But it will kill too. I've heard of too many healers lose their life testing with this. You must NEVER use this, never pour it into anything. It only takes a small dose to kill. Please, just promise me you will never use this for anything, food, drink, medicine, cures, you must never touch this. Understand?"_

"_People can…die?"_

"_Naramai!"_

"_No, I promise, I will never touch it. I won't even look at it, I promise."_

She should have made her promise too.

"No! If you saw her…than…why didn't you STOP HER?!" She lunged forward her hands ready to twist his neck, breaking it. Tadeo wrapped his arms around her holding her tight, bringing her back.

"NO! LET ME GO! MURDERER! MURDERER! YOU LET HER DIE! YOU WATCHED HER DIE! YOU JUST WATCHED!" She raised her arm, and broken branches began to glow, flying toward the boy. As Tadeo tried to lower her arm, she broke away, lifting more branches and logs, thrusting them toward the boy.

As the wood hit the ground in front of him, the boy let the light pour out of his mouth again, and the familiar wolf body began jumping out of the way of the dangerous logs.

"Listen to me! Yes, I let her die! I LET HER DIE! Maybe she wasn't so stupid after all! Maybe she had the right idea! She was a coward, she couldn't even tell you! But at least she did something to get you on your own feet!"

"Tell…me…WHAT?!" Naramai's legs began to quake and she fell to the forest floor, dead leaves and moss covering her face.

How could some one's life be a lie. Some secret a person wasn't allowed to know. Brought up in the shadows, taught life was a certain way, when it was indeed only shadows, not the real thing. The elders, always watching, always sneering, always whispering, but they never told her anything. The children, always abandoning her, always staying away. Hersha never told her how she came to take care of her. She never told her why Naramai and her could heal. Why Naramai could do the strange little tricks she did. Why she had no parents. Why no one talked to her, only staring down at her…like a criminal. Naramai never asked. It was her life, something that was normal and she grew accustomed to it, as any other child would. But why would Hersha want to send her away. Why would she kill herself to do so. This boy knew more about her own life than she did. A scary thought. Little tears began to fall down her cheeks. Hersha was really never going to be seen again. Naramai thought she had accepted that, but the pain wanted to give another blow. And her parents, she didn't like the idea of them afraid, having to give her up. The images must have been her parents, she could never be sure, but they must have been. She never knew her parents, but for an odd little reason, one she couldn't figure out, it still hurt to think about them. It wasn't difficult to make some one's life a lie, and she realized it. Everything was false, everything and anything.

The fallen, dead leaves began to rustle as the wolf moved toward the girl. She was still crying, she was weaker than he thought. The boy was still looking at her, his head bent. _You're all so weak! Life isn't even finished with you yet…_ The wolf looked toward the sky, the clouds had already begun to part. Maybe he hadn't found the right person. It had been a long search, maybe too long to give up on it. It lowered its snout to the girl's ear.

"Since she wouldn't tell you…I will. I don't expect you to believe me, but you must."


	6. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

The skies had begun to clear, the clouds slowly parting to let the moonlight hit the earth. Though all knew it would only be temporary; the summer rains were not finished their work, and would return, but for now the moon was able to shine down on the tree cleared forest floor and on the three beings enclosed in it.

The wolf turned his head to see the trees secluding the pool had not been touched; not pulled from the ground lying as if wounded soldiers like the rest, but it was to be expected. What creature destroys their own home? The flowers were still undisturbed and growing peacefully at the bases of the trees, little bits of irony sprinkled across the ground. They made the pool seem pleasant, like it was a simple beauty put in the forest by nature's hand, but they were only a mask. Though their brothers had not fallen, the other mighty Okai trees had not been so lucky. Many had crumbled at the hand of the spirit, fallen to the ground, slowly rotting as time took its course. Their roots had been uplifted, leaving enormous craters in the earth, while others had simply been severed in two. None of the familiar sounds of the forest could be heard. Not the cries of birds, or the shuffling of predator and prey, nor the howls of beasts. All had left the scarred land.

Naramai still had her face in the moss and leaves, pressed into the ground. And she was still crying, meekly whimpering. The wolf looked disgusted, like he'd found a rotting corpse in his path, rather than the girl. _So weak! Displaying her feelings for all to see…disgusting. _The wolf had seen people her age, even children, tougher and stronger than her, not letting their personal feelings get in the way of their life, continuing to follow their duty no matter the pain. He began to have second thoughts and continued to stare at her curled up body. But he knew now there really was no time to begin the search again. He'd have to make due with what was provided.

"Get up," he mumbled annoyed, "we'll not speak here, creatures like to roam in the night and we've had enough trouble. More trouble than you'd care to see I can guess." He turned to and began talking, almost in self thought. "The ledges, yes the ledges would be best. The caves should still be there. And stop your whimpering." Tadeo began to walk forward, out from the shadows where he had been hiding, and pointed an accusing finger toward the wolf.

"Where do you get the right telling her what to do? I don't trust you as far as I can throw you, if you have something to say, say it here and now. Dog's are the one's who follow commands." The wolf began to growl showing its teeth, all of them casting off a shine in the moonlight. Its small claws reached into the soft earth while its tail thrashed about madly. Standing beside his friend, Tadeo pulled a blade from his belt, its shine similar to the wolf's teeth. Suddenly he felt a soft tug on his hand and looked to see Naramai's solemn face looking back at his own.

"Tadeo…I want to know a truth for once. No more secrets." There was still a trail of tears on her cheeks. But as he lowered his knife, he could see the smallest glimpse of a smile on her face. "You can kill him later." A pleasing proposition, but the cost was more than Tadeo wanted to pay. He wanted to tell her she knew enough, to keep her life simple, and to not get mixed up with this secretive wolf. The wolf could have forged every word from his lips, every word a lie; and the worst part…he didn't know what there would be to lie about. But every little hair on his body seemed to hold some secret, whether it was fashioned in the wolf's own mind, or actually true. _Doesn't she question him? Isn't she the least bit afraid? Perhaps she is just braver than you. _As Naramai began to stand, she nervously looked to the trees secluding the pool, a bit of a distance off but still in plain sight.

"Won't more…come?" The wolf tossed its tail about in boredom and impatience.

"No, they will not come, at least not now. I suppose the spirits aren't without scruples. That was not a soldier per say, but a sort of messenger, though his message was neither material nor word of tongue. It won't do much harm, just knock some trees down, crush some houses, it's just their little friendly way of warning the world. And don't look so nervous, the rest won't be so big. No, this was just a giant of a spirit. It has to be big enough for the world to notice, right? But we move on, time waits for no one. Ugh…you both look so heavy but…hop on. I can't believe I'm allowing myself to be used as a way of transportation…"

"Never!" Tadeo's hand sliced through the air, putting more power into his word. "I'm not riding on some stinkin' beast." He turned toward Naramai and whispered more to her solemn face. "He could turn on us as soon as we sat on him! I don't trust him at all; if he wants to get out of the forest he does it in human form with a knife to his back!" Naramai bit her lip and shook her head, like a small child.

"No. He has no reason to harm us, when he found me earlier…he could have killed me, but he didn't. No…I don't like him either but, I need to trust him. He's the fastest way out of these woods, and I'm only human Tadeo, I want to know what he was talking about, you have to understand." Tadeo only stared hard, his eyes bearing down on the wolf, as if trying to see into his soul, to see what the wolf really wanted from them. Naramai took determined steps toward the wolf, which was still flicking its tail in boredom, and kneeled to stare it in the eye.

"No tricks. We won't hesitate to protect ourselves. And before we leave, I want to know at least one thing. What is your name?"

"Well I'm sure your friend here will continue to shower me with 'dog' and 'beast', but if you must know it's…no, let's just stick to 'wolf'. Simpler and easier to remember, and it I'd like to believe it suits me better." Naramai scowled. The boy seemed to have a must of secrets around him, cluttering the air like a fowl perfume.

"Wolf? No, that's…" The wolf scurried under her legs, placing her on his back for the second time that night, only to be greeted by a shriek once again. And before Tadeo could dodge the wolf's advance, he too found himself sitting atop Wolf's back, clutching onto pieces of fur. The beast dug his claws deep into the ground and took off into the darkness, leaving the light of the moon behind.

Wolf gracefully bound through the forest, acrobatically dodging fallen tree limbs, pits, and other various obstacles, throwing Naramai and Tadeo side to side, clutching to his neck and fur. His pace was slowed, and he grunted from the added weight as he leaped over the forest's cluttered floor. Naramai could only guess dawn's approaching hour as the faint light shining down through the canopy began to change to the familiar yellow hue. Both she and Tadeo tried to shield their faces from the low hanging branches and vines and she lowered her mouth to the wolf's furry ear.

"How far away is this cave exactly?" She asked, "It may come to be a bit of a shock, but I've never been to the ledges." She wound her arms tighter around Wolf's neck, hating every moment of the ride.

"Not…too far…away," he could hardly speak as he preformed his task and gasped for air. "Not much farther…than where…I…found you earlier." Naramai's stomach rumbled with hunger, she hadn't eaten for two days and longed for even the tiniest scrap of bread or meat, but Tadeo placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry; this dog should be good for something." In alarm she turned to face him.

"Tadeo we're not eating him!"

"Hunting, _hunting_ Naramai…" he scowled at the wolf, "I don't think wolf tastes good anyways."

"I should…hope…not. It would be…interesting to…see how…man…tasted though." Tadeo instantly reached for his belt, only to see Naramai staring back at him, giving him that look, the one he'd seen only so many times. The one telling him to be the bigger person, to cast aside any remark some one had made; to just not cause trouble.

"Fine." He aggressively shoved the knife back into his belt and let go of the knife's smooth handle. Wolf began to laugh with the odd little sound he had, like the bark of a wolf mixed with that of a human. His pace slowed as the trees began to dissipate, and the sunlit hills came into view, the hills Naramai so desperately wanted to feel underneath her feet again.

"You know Tadeo, you not much different from a dog yourself. You always trot behind Naramai and listen to her orders. Naramai's trained a good little hound. Yes…Tadeo the mutt!"

"That's it!" Tadeo quickly grabbed for a knife and thrust its small blade into Wolf's hind leg. Blood immediately began to spurt and trickle out from the wound, and the agonizing howl only associated with a wolf could be heard. Both Naramai and Tadeo were thrown to the ground as Wolf came to a screeching halt, and they tumbled amongst the undergrowth. With a great, soaring pain in his leg, Wolf turned to face his assailant. Coming to his feet, Tadeo pulled another knife, his hand shaking from anger and fear. Though a small wolf this was still a breed of beast to reckon with, even injured, a wolf could still bite. Wolf's leg was died in the deep red, crimson color of blood, and the wound continued to drip with red liquid, leaving a small trial behind him as he hobbled forward barring his teeth at Tadeo. As Naramai began to pick herself up, she could see Wolf awkwardly charging for Tadeo, barking and showing his teeth.

"No!" She quickly raised a small decaying log into the air and thrust it in front the wolf's path, in an attempt to protect her friend from the mad dog. She saw the glint of the knife protruding from the wolf's leg, similar to the glint of the knife Tadeo held in front of him now, as he slowly back away. "Tadeo what did you do?!" Wolf, though injured, still managed to jump over the decaying wood and pounced onto Tadeo. The wolf threw his body onto the boy's arm, knocking the knife out of his grip. Tadeo could only watch as it spun out of his hand and into the overgrown mess of vines and plants. The boy struggled to push Wolf's head away from his own with his one arm, and his eyes widened in fear as the wolf brought down his sharp claws on his face leaving deep marks, filling with blood. Tadeo gritted his teeth, trying not to yell in pain. The marks burned like fire, like a blazing torch in his face. He could taste warm blood as it began to dribble into his open mouth. His hand struggled to move toward the last knife in his belt, but with the weight of the wolf on his arm he could only barley touch the cool metal of its handle with his fingers. Though suddenly the weight was off his body and the wolf lying in the ground next to him, with Naramai kneeling in between. She had thrust her own body against the wolf and thrown him to the ground. Immediately standing up, she lifted her arms and blocked Tadeo from the beast.

"I…I told you to _never_ touch him again!" Tadeo stood up behind her, wiping the blood across his face and spitting out the blood that had gone into his mouth. Wolf came to his feet, breathing heavily, his leg limp on the ground. In a flash of light, the wolf once again became a boy, one hand to the ground, the other pulling out the blood covered knife. He stared at the weapon that caused him the pain, and gritted his teeth, breathing heavily.

"He must learn that beasts bite back." He raised his head to look Tadeo straight in the eye, smiling.

"Now your face matches the rest of your body, deformed and ugly." Tadeo lost any scrap of self control left in his body. He ran past Naramai's outstretched arm and dove onto Wolf, pinning down his arms. His face was only a twig's width away from the boy's, so close so as he could feel Wolf's breathe on his own skin.

"Deformed and ugly?! Look who's talking! You're a damn wolf you…" Suddenly Wolf thrust his feet into Tadeo, and kicked him off into the woods behind him. He turned over onto his hands and knees and let the familiar light pour out from his mouth. Naramai watched as the boy once again turned into the beast and stared in horror as he again took off after Tadeo. _They're going to kill each other._ As Tadeo rose to his feet, Wolf raised his paw to take another blow, and Naramai ran in front of her friend.Again, she lifted her hands and stared the beast in the eye. _He won't hurt me…he can't._ Her breath quickened from fear and anger as Wolf lowered his paw, only inches from her face and his snout curled into a scowl.

"Why do you bother protecting him? He isn't fit to be alive." Naramai lifted her hand drawing it close to her chest, and the knife Wolf had cast aside came obediently to her body. She quickly plucked it form the air and held it in front of her with a shaky hand, its blade still covered in blood.

"I told you not to touch him." She spat out her words with hatred for the wolf. Tadeo walked next to her, ready to push past her again, breathing heavily as he tried to catch his breath.

"I don't need you fighting my battles for…"

"I'm not fighting this battle, I'm ending it." She felt a chill go up her spine as she spotted the blood slowly trickling out of the wound in Wolf's leg, forming a puddle on the rotting leaves. With the snap of her wrist Tadeo's knife flew out of his belt and from the overgrowth and into her hands. And with another flick, they were stuck fast into the bark of an Okai tree, high in the branches, where they could cause no more blood spilling. Tadeo didn't bother to argue, he would have done the same in her place. The healer walked to Wolf's side and pushed the loose strands of hair out of her eyes, trying to get a closer look at the deep wound, her fingers lightly touching the blood on his thick fur.

"Human form please."

"What?"

"Its easier for me, I've never done any healing to a wolf before…please just turn back into a human. And that way there is no fur in the way."

"Don't touch it, its fine. I've had worst; I don't need any of your little healing." He backed off from her touch, still limping.

"What are you crazy? That wound must be taken care of quickly; you'll only have a little bit of time before you lose too much blood. I won't be able to clean it now, though it's a wound just waiting to be infected, but I can at least stop the bleeding. I promise it won't hurt…that badly." Wolf began to lick up the blood on his leg, touching the open flesh with his tongue. Naramai ripped off a strip of cloth from the bottom of her pants, they were soiled but it would have to do.

"That won't help. Please just let me…" She spoke calmly, like a mother to her child, as she tried coaxing the wolf to her.

"No…" Wolf spoke firmly and barred his teeth as he talked, "…I don't need your help. I take care of myself. Why don't you go and try to restore your friend's pretty little face back, but don't lay your healing hands on me." He hobbled off next to one of the Okai trees, and placed his body in the nook of the roots. He would only continue to lick his wound, and his tongue was soon covered in the crimson color of blood. Naramai shoved the dirty strip of cloth into the pocket of her skirt and turned to face Tadeo, who was running straight for her. He immediately put a hand to her mouth and pulled her next to him at the base of another Okai tree, nestled in the roots as Wolf was. She struggled, but succeeded at pushing his hand away.

"Tadeo what are you…" He quickly brought his hand back over her mouth, despite her squirming.

"Quite, in case you haven't noticed, we got company." He murmured the words in a soft voice, and pointed into the hills. Naramai had forgotten they had almost cleared the Okai forest. Tadeo pulled back his hand, and Naramai crawled across the large roots, trying to get a better view of what Tadeo was pointing at.

A small group of men were making their way down the hills, all carrying objects Naramai could see that were to be used as weapons. Long poles made of wood, sharpened at the end were carried by some, while others carried crude bows, and even others carried knives, similar to the ones Tadeo owned himself. As their faces came into view, she could see they were an assortment of Demiscus' friends. She would often see them all sharing drinks, or talking about the far off places Demiscus had traveled, and how the life there was so extraordinary. The heavier ones were huffing and puffing as they finally made it down the hills, and joined with their fellow comrades at the tree line to the Okai forest. With worried eyes she looked back to Tadeo, but he would only put a finger to his mouth. Silently she crawled back to the nook in the roots where Tadeo still sat, and suddenly wished she hadn't put his knives up high in the tree, stuck fast in the bark. She spoke as quietly as she could, her expression still full of fear.

"Could they really have found the body already? How do they know I did it? This is bad…so bad." Tadeo's eyes looked down the tree line.

"We need to wait till they leave, we're too close, and I don't feel like taking a risk right…" Tadeo was cut short as the men huddled together at the tree line and began to converse.

"She ain't gonna be in there! No one goes in there and I ain't about to go on goin' in there!"

"The little witch was always a freak, spending all that wasted time by some stupid brook…" Another man slapped him on the back and began to laugh.

"Why was you a watchin'?! You a fancy-in' her?" The other man smiled.

"Wouldn't be surprised to find out she's talking to some little rabbit in here." Another man walked ahead of the group, only inches away from the first tree, looking nervously into the woods.

"What about that Tadeo boy? People are saying he ran after her into the hills too, you think he's got something to do with it?" Another stuck his knife into the soft wood of one of the trees, and leaned against it, looking bored.

"Never liked him much. Always walking around with those little knives of his, he was always the one who caused trouble as a kid. Yea…even if he didn't do the dirty work, I'm willing to bet he helped." A burly man stuck his sharpened pole into the ground and crossed his arms.

"If I 'as them, this'd be the firs' place I'd a be headin'. If them smart kids theys know not many a people would go in aft' them…likes all yous women. But we ain't mos' peoples are's we gentlemen?" The nervous looking man spoke again.

"But this wood goes on for miles, quite incredible really…they could be anywhere, and we don't even know if they're in here. Its been a day already, if they really wanted to they could have crossed the ledges." The burly man plucked his pole from the ground and smiled.

"Eh don't be a worryin'. Thems jus' kids, theys won't go tat a deep into the woods. We jus' have to go searchin' tree line, tat's all. Maybe little deeper. There ain't no wheres to hide in hills, no they's a be in here." The man leaning against his knife looked out into the drying grass of the hills.

"But the body wasn't found in the woods, no it was found out in the grass. Why would they come all the way back? I'm betting they found their way to those ledges. The blood trial was leading there anyways. Don't know why it stopped…" he smiled, "if we're lucky maybe one of them is injured, that'd slow them up a bit." Another man, walked from the group. Naramai wasn't surprised to see it was Demiscus' oldest and most trusted friend, he would always be willing to help Demiscus out.

"Have you all completely forgotten last night?! The damn water shooting into the sky?! Gave all the bloody elders heart-ticks, or whatever Hersha called them. The little witch had something to do with that, she's still in here."

"So what do you propose we do? Search every inch of the woods?!"

"No, like good Firman said, we search the tree line. No a little deeper than that. These are kids remember, and kids don't like the dark and the cries of animals. They would have stuck to staying where light could have poured in." The other man pulled his knife out of the wood and shrugged.

"Suppose so. We better get moving than. Every second we waste here they could be on the move. With our luck they're probably already in Deodra."

"What are you going back on you're idea for? I say they are hiding in those ledges!" The men began to quarrel amongst themselves, throwing their weapons to the ground and tossing their hands in the air in aggravation. All were shouting different ideas of where the murderers could have gone. Naramai put her head into her hands.

"We're stuck. They're going to find us…" She whimpered her words in a low voice. Tadeo continued to look around the woods, desperately searching for a way to escape without being heard or spotted. They were just too close, he knew it would only be a matter of time till some one spotted the blood on the forest floor and found them. He closed his eyes and sighed.

"Naramai…we, we may need to fight them." Her big eyes looked back up to him with a pleading look.

"No, no more fighting. No more killing. I won't fight them. We don't stand a chance anyways." She brought her knees to her chest and rested her arms on them, trying to think of some way to escape, but she couldn't think of any other options, they were trapped. She jumped in surprise as she felt a warm paw on her arm.

"Wolf you scared me." He lay on the roots next to her, his leg still limp to his side.

"We don't need to fight them. Honestly must I think of everything? Naramai just take their weapons. Obviously we'll have to do a bit of running…or flying in my case but at least they won't be able to harm us as we make our escape. We'll just have to hope we lose them in the woods. It actually could be quite fun, a bit of a thrill." Tadeo looked at the wolf as if he had just stated he were a cow.

"What are you crazy? Do you enjoy near death experiences? Naramai can't possibly get every weapon they have before we would have to run." Tadeo put his head in his hands, still thinking of any solution they could use. Naramai bit her lip, and nervously looked around the tree, thankful that the men were still arguing.

"I won't fight them, and if we run…it'd be too easy for one of them to just throw their knife or shoot an arrow. Tadeo, I think this is the only way. At least we have a chance. And we can't take the risk of just hoping they leave." All three of the hiders jumped at the sound of a snapping branch and the rustle of leaves. Wolf quickly snapped his head around the Okai tree to see the men beginning their excavation of the wood. Naramai nervously looked toward Tadeo, her eyes again full of pleading.

"Please…this is the only way out of here." Tadeo sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

"We're going to need my knives back." Naramai smiled and quickly pulled the glowing knives out of the bark with the snap of her wrist. Shaking his head, Tadeo placed the knives back into his belt.

"We're going to die…" Wolf turned his head to smile.

"Probably…"

Naramai could see the men crashing through the undergrowth of the forest, coming closer with each step; it would only be moments before they spotted the blood and curiously followed its trial only to discover their murderers. Wolf walked beside her, careful to make no noise.

"Naramai when I…change, immediately snatch those pointy little weapons of theirs. Just try to get as much as you can, even if you can't get them all and then you and Tadeo run. I'll be right above you. Just keep running, and try to lose…"

"The witch! Kash it's the witch…and the boy!" Naramai looked fearfully to the man pointing a finger in their direction and grabbed Tadeo's arm.

"No time! Run!" She pulled Tadeo along with her as she ran. Wolf rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to let the light pour out, revealing the black form of a bird.

"This was not in my job description." The men stared in confusion and wonder as the bird took off into the trees, had it not been a wolf only a moment before? But it was no matter; they had found their murderers.

------

It had seemed like hours, but Naramai knew it must have only been minutes. Tadeo and she were still running through the thick undergrowth, their feet growing tired from jumping over logs and getting nicked by rocks. She could still hear the men crashing through the forest after them, cursing their way over log and rock alike. Naramai wanted desperately to shed her light on the scene, but they could only rely on the small amount of light let through from the forest treetops so as not to give away their location. Wolf was still flying overhead, his black figure disappearing in the darkness of the woods. Tadeo had asked her multiple times if he could throw "just one little knife" to help scare off the men, but the answer was always the same. Naramai never wanted to see another weapon again. Too many had flown past her ear or dug into the bark of the wood next to her. Luckily, only the fitter men were left running, the rest had grown tired and slowed down, lost in the mess of trees and vines. Naramai bit her tongue as she stepped on a plant's stem of thorns, and winced as they went deep into her skin. She couldn't risk screaming out, showing the men exactly where they were. Tadeo looked behind, to see if the men were still in view. It was too dark to tell. Naramai looked around, seeing where to turn next, but all she could view was shady outlines of trees.

"Tadeo, which…way?" She spoke as quietly as possible and gasped for breathe in between her words. She longed to feel grass underneath her feet again, and to feel the warmth of the sun on her cheeks, even if the grass was dry and the sun hot, anything was better than this dark world. "You think…they're…still…behind us?" Tadeo continued to run, pumping his arms; Naramai was always amazed at how he could keep his speed for so long.

"I don't know, but we better keep moving. I think I can still hear them though." Naramai shrieked as she felt the grasp of a hand on her shoulder, but was relieved to see it was only Wolf perched next to her. He looked annoyed and dug into her shoulder sharply with his talons.

"Well now that you successfully blown our cover…"

"Your…fault…don't scare…me…next time. What…do you want? Do…I look…like a…free ride?"

"Please don't inform me that I'm the only one capable or noticing our surroundings." Tadeo stumbled in fright as a fresh arrow dug into the bark next to him.

"This is crazy! We can't keep running forever!"

"I believe you'll both recognize this place." Both Naramai and Tadeo didn't have to look around the wood to know what the bird was talking about. It was a place neither wanted to see, and neither wanted to accept that they had found their way back to the pool. But as Naramai saw the fallen trees and the cleared forest ground from the corner of her eye, she knew they were really back.

"We need to…go another way…I'm not…going back…there." Tadeo thought he could already see the little patches of white covering the ground in the trees far ahead, the little fallen stars. Another arrow stuck fast into the ground behind Naramai's running feet, only another inch closer and it would have found its target.

"On the contrary Naramai, you could use it to make your escape."

"Easy for…you to…say! You're not being…hunted…like an…" She cut off, not wanting to finish her sentence.

"Welcome to my world." There seemed to be a hint of sadness to his voice and Naramai wondered if he had been mistaken before for an actual animal before and if he had been hunted through some wilderness. Wolf took off, heading up into the high branches of the Okai trees, hidden in the dark world. Naramai stumbled over her feet as Tadeo pulled her in the direction she didn't want to go, back to the pool.

"We're not going there."

"I've got an idea, just trust me." The pool seemed to have connected an invisible string to the girl, always pulling her back, whether with her will or against it. She remembered the last time she trusted Tadeo leading her to the pool.

"Tadeo I don't think we…" He looked back at her, an almost upset look on his face.

"What? You trust me don't you?" Of course she did, Tadeo was one of the few people she felt she _could_ trust. But a small part of her wanted to follow her own instincts, rely on her own feelings. This simple pool of water had bitten back, and she didn't want to feel that fear and pain again, but her mouth spoke before she could think.

"You know I trust you." Dragging her along even faster he smiled.

"Good." But as the two passed the first flowers, scattered across the ground, Tadeo's smile faded.

Kash was beginning to lose his breathe, and could no longer hear the murderers' footsteps. Only a few of the men were left running behind him, the rest had slowed up, leaning against trees, coughing and struggling for air. He realized why no one had ever entered the forest; the light was so sparse, even the trees to his side were hidden, blending into the darkness. If they were lucky a small pocket of light would shine down, through a break in the trees, but now the trees seemed to grow closer and closer together. Only the memory of his friend's weeping gave him his drive to continue on. The remembrance of Demiscus crying over his son's body, digging his fingers into the blood, wailing to the spirits…it tore him apart. He was there with him when the men brought the body back, it had been ghastly to behold. Holes could be found going straight through his body, and he was soaked in blood. It must have been a true blood bath. Demiscus had asked over and over who could have killed his boy, who could have been this torturous. It had taken him much time to believe "sweet" Naramai could have done it. She was the only one who could have, and the people found no problem pointing their fingers to her. _Instead of a marriage he will have a funeral…no father should have to bury his own child._ His thoughts were broken as he stumbled across the first white petals, covering the bases of the great Okai trees. Coming to a halt he stared into the gap of the trees, a pathway bathed in light.

"Kash…you, you don't think they went in there do you?" One of the men came to a stop behind him, looking fearfully at the grand trees. "They'd…they'd be too scared to…right?" Another man stood by Kash, taking in deep breathes.

"They…might not…know…what it is."

"Steady man, catch your breath. With that little witch…who knows? Hersha might have slipped up; no one thought she could resist telling her." The nervous man backed away, holding his crude spear in front of him.

"I'm not going in. Those spirits are back, I'm telling you! That water wasn't natural. I don't care is she's a murderer, I ain't risking my own life."

"Shut your trap, the elders said…"

"I don't care what those old bags said. Whose to say those spirits aren't coming back? With what the spirits have done, I doubt they have any room for a decent heart. No, they're coming back, and I don't feel like upsetting them." Kash softly touched the ground beneath him, and was not surprised to feel the small imprints of footsteps, dug in deep into the soft, rotting ground.

"Stop your arguing. Stay here in case anything happens, I'll go in alone." Both men nodded in agreement, glad to not have to take the risk of entering.

Kash was almost blinded by the light, pouring down into the treeless clearing. As his eyesight was regained, he stared in wonder at the gentle scene laid before him. It was like a soft painting on a canvas. White, star shaped flowers cluttered the ground. The grass was a delicate shade of green, light and peaceful. And the simple pool of water looked quaint in the small, secluded space. It was hard to believe spirits emerging from the water's depths, destroying the pool's beauty. He was startled from his thoughts as a small, almost inaudible sound of a splash, like a small stone had been thrown into the pool broke the silence. _Right, looking for the kids._ Slowly, almost fearfully, he stepped toward the water, and gazed into the mirror like surface. But his hopes of finding the murderers hiding beneath the surface of the water diminished as only his own reflection stared back at him. Maybe the kids were too stupid for an idea like that; he would of had to admit it would've been clever. Sighing from disappointment, he kneeled at the edge of the pool, and dipped his hand into the water. He felt a chill go up his spine at the cooling sensation. His expression turned to the likes of a curious child as he extracted his hand from the water only to find strands of long black hair entwined around his fingers. Quickly he plunged his hand back into the water, swirling it about, trying to go deeper without falling in.

Naramai knew she wouldn't be able to hold her breathe much longer. Frightened she looked to Tadeo, worried that the man was going to feel one of their faces or one of their hands and drag them from the pool, captured. She dug her fingers deeper into the edge of the pool behind her and felt the dirt and the roots of the grass growing above her head. Tadeo gritted his teeth; she knew he wouldn't be able to last much longer than her. She had tied her hair back with the cloth meant to be used to bandage Wolf, hoping her long hair wouldn't float to the surface, but her hair still managed to give her away. The hand started to move against the pool's edge. Feeling underneath the large overhang of the grass and compacted dirt, it slithered about. Tadeo shut his eyes and gritted his teeth harder; he would only last a few more moments. It was a horrible feeling, not being able to do anything, just sitting and waiting to be found. Her lungs felt like bursting, but Naramai could only watch fearfully as the hand drew closer and closer.

"_Kash!_ A wolf! Get out here! Stay away beast! Back!" The hand left the water as quickly as it came. A wave of relief washed over Naramai, but her joy would have to be shared with Tadeo above the surface, for she could hold her breathe no longer. The two quickly and silently swam to the other side, away from the entrance to the pool. They gasped for air as they broke past the surface of the water, grateful they could once again breathe. Tadeo rested his arms and head on the soft grass, too tired to drag the rest of his body to the surface, and took in the beautiful air, filling his lungs. Naramai dragged her body onto the edge of the pool; her face buried in the flowers with water dripping onto their petals, and was so glad to smell their sickly sweet scent. She draped her arms over her eyes, and concentrated on her breathing, so happy not to be feeling the pressure of the water against her lungs, choking her. She turned on her stomach to face Tadeo, and rubbed the grass with her arms, smiling.

"Tadeo…" He looked up to her, water dripping from his hay colored hair and eyelashes.

"Yea?"

"We are _never_ doing that again." He smiled and laid his face back into the cool ground, rubbing the sweet grass with his cheek.

"No, never." Naramai let the sunlight beat down on her body, warming her from the chilling water. She had thought Tadeo insane when he pulled her into the freezing water, but it had worked, it had been close, but it had worked. But her peaceful, almost happy moment of lying in the grass was disturbed at the sound of the barking of Wolf. She clumsily crawled to Tadeo's side and grabbed hold of his wet arms, trying to pull his body out of the water, like a mother pulling her child along. Struggling, Tadeo shook his head, still facedown in the grass.

"No. Let go. Just a few more seconds." He was still too tired to argue with the fury he usually used.

"Oh Tadeo, get up!" She couldn't talk too loudly for fear of the men hearing her. "Wolf is out there! He' still injured, thanks to you, and he called that man away from us…so get up!" She smiled as he pulled the rest of his soaked body from the water, grumbling. He looked back into the pool, scowling.

"I hate water." Wringing out his shirt he looked to Naramai, who had found comfort leaning against one of the Okai trees.

"So what do you propose we do? I'm telling you, we should just sneak up behind them, take a nice big rock and…"

"No." Tadeo began to fling his arms in excitement.

"But it would be so _easy_." Suddenly the barking stopped, and both turned their heads in confusion and worry. They could hear the voice of one of the men who'd been chasing them.

"What the…"

"It's…it's that same wolf! I told you…I…it…the one that turned into a bird!" Naramai let out a long sigh of relief, thankful Wolf hadn't been stabbed again, or worse. Squirming, she managed to squeeze between two Okai trees and beckoned for her friend to do the same. They needed to find Wolf as quickly as possible and staying in the pool would do no good. Tadeo soon popped out from the gap in the trees as well, coming back into the forest, and leaving the pool. The light would be the only thing they missed, as their eyes adjusted to the darkness of the woods. Sliding down the bark of the trees, both settled into nooks in the roots and sat in the decaying leaves. The sounds of footsteps could still be heard as the men took off deeper into the forest. Tadeo leaned against the bark of the tree, and wiped the water from his face.

"We should wait a bit. Maybe that damn wolf will find us anyways." Naramai nodded in agreement and rested her head on the bark of the roots. Tadeo drew one of his knives, tossing it up into the air, trying to stay amused.

"Do you miss your parents?" Tadeo let the knife fall onto the ground, taken aback by his friend's question.

"What?"

"Do you miss them…your parents?"

"I…I can't even remember them. My mother a little, but not my father. I guess not, why?" She wouldn't look at Tadeo as she spoke, as if she weren't as so much asking him, but just mumbling to herself.

"You never really talk about them. Where was your father?" She started to trace the cracks in the bark with her finger.

"I told you, I can't even remember him. I don't even know what he looked like; if he was alive today and stood before me…I wouldn't recognize him. I think…I mean I'm not sure, but I think that Demiscus told me when I was little that he was killed in battle and that I should be proud. I couldn't really understand at the time, so I never pressed the matter. He never told me more than that, if he even told me that at all."

"So you don't miss them, or wonder what it would be like to have them?" Tadeo picked his knife from among the rotting leaves, and began tossing it back into the air.

"You can't miss something you never really had. And Demiscus was always a bit of a father to me, maybe not a great one, but he was at least somebody to turn to. So…no I don't wonder about them, or wish I had them back. Why do you want to know? Didn't Hersha ever tell you about your parents?"

"No, she didn't. I can remember asking her all the time when I was little," she smiled, "'What was my mommy like Hersha? Was she pretty? Where is she? And my daddy was he strong? He must have been tall right? Where are they Hersha?' I asked all the time," her smile began to fade, "But Hersha would always give me child answers. 'Yes the prettiest of them all! And your father could take on one hundred bears!' They were good enough for me at the time, and eventually I stopped asking, stopped wondering I suppose." Tadeo stared at his friend. This was not the Naramai he knew. She was an orphan, like him, and they had grown up learning and accepting they would never have a mother or father to run to, to laugh and cry with. He understood the little bit of pain that took place in your heart, but Naramai never seemed to fret over it, just as he didn't. She almost never spoke about her parents, or wondered out loud about them. He knew something would have had to have stirred the little bit of pain in her heart, the empty place where a parent's love should have been. Naramai began to twirl a dead leaf in her finger and looked to Tadeo.

"My parents…I think I…" She was cut off as a small lump landed in her lap. She shrieked and scuttled up the bark, tossing what felt like a bundle of fur off her legs. Wolf perched next to her side, still in the form of a bird.

"That was your meal. A simple 'thank you' would have been sufficient instead of flinging it off into the wilderness. And please…you scream too much. You'd be a horrible hunter; you'd scare away all the game when every little thing popped out at you." She grabbed for the bird, but it quickly flew off onto the next root.

"Stop scaring me!" Tadeo bent down, feeling through the undergrowth, and withdrew a small woodferret, its tail dangling in his hand.

"Wonderful. We should get about…oh two bites from this thing."

"You ungrateful little…"

"Stop. Both of you." She laid her hand onto the root Wolf had perched upon and felt a small cool sensation on her hand. Brining it to her face, she could see a dark liquid staining her skin.

"Wolf! You're still bleeding?!"

"I'm _fine_. I had to perform a little act for those men; I'm going to take care of it now, so stop worrying." Before she could protest, the blinding light emerged form his beak and the form of the boy took its place. She cringed at the sight of the wound, and how the blood still continued to dribble from it. She softly reached out to touch the wound.

"Wolf…that's not good. I've seen wounds like this before…you don't have much time. Please, just let me help you." Wolf ripped the bottom of his soiled short like pants, and began twisting the material around his thigh. The blood immediately began to soak through the cloth. Tadeo threw the woodferret back to the hunter.

"Let him die. If he wants to bleed to death, that's his problem."

"Wolf that won't help it. It'll hurt a little, but we have to fix that. Hersha told me wounds like that have little time to be healed…you're going to bleed to death!" Wolf's emotion seemed undisturbed as he continued to rip another stretch of soiled cloth from his pants. Continuing his simple medical procedure to his leg, he calmly spoke.

"If you have such a hard time understanding the simple words from my mouth, than maybe it would be inappropriate to inform you of some delicate information I was planning on telling you. When I say not to touch this wound, I mean it. I don't ask for your help, and I don't want to receive it." Naramai was surprised at how calmly, yet forcefully he spoke. She couldn't understand his resistance to her healing, any moment the process of death could take over, and yet he seemed oblivious too it, or maybe he just didn't care. Naramai bit her lip, her mind racing through all the information Hersha had told her over the years. Hunters from the village had had accidents before, stabbings, rips in the flesh, all the blood just trickling out. If the men had been too fearful of Hersha's "shady magic", then…_He has to cauterize it. He must!_

"Wolf…if you don't trust me, you can even do it yourself…but you have to cauterize that."

"Yes, once we get to the ledges. I suppose it's a must…" Tadeo abruptly stood up, with an angered look.

"Why would we go there? You heard those men, some of them thought we'd be there; it's too bad we weren't. They'll come there next! You don't seem to understand how much Demiscus loved that bratty bastard, and Kash is too loyal to Demiscus to give up this easily."

"In time, yes they will most likely search the ledges. But for now, we can rest assured…those men still think you are running somewhere in this damned forest, and they will be forced to set up camp at nightfall. No…we will be…we will…be…" Wolf brought a hand to his head, and for a moment swayed through the air, like a drunk leaving the bar. His body met the rotting leaves of the forest floor as he fell from the roots of the Okai tree. Stumbling across the roots Naramai turned his body over.

"Tadeo! Give me your knife! Oh why wouldn't he listen to me?!" She held out her hand, desperate for the weapon.

"No way! I'm not letting you waste any blood on him; he doesn't want the healing then…"

"_Tadeo!_" It was one of the things Tadeo would have preferred Hersha not teach her student. He didn't believe the wolf deserved anything Naramai could do for him, but he would never be forgiven if he let the boy die. _Stupid, stupid wolf… _Grumbling he handed the knife to the healer, slightly holding onto the blade as she took it from his hand, not wanting to give it up. He was surprised the wolf had lasted this long, letting the wound go untreated, and thought it a miracle if Naramai could really help him. He cringed as he saw her slice the open palm of her hand, and saw the blood already dripping onto the ground.

-------

It was dark. Wolf's eyes slowly fluttered open only to see the same view when they were closed, empty blackness. Sitting up, he felt the hard surface underneath him and gently touched it only to find the hard rock of the ledges underneath his palm. He pushed his hand through his messed hair, and squinted his eyes, trying to get a better view of his surroundings, but could only see the faint and dying embers of a fire. _We must be in the cave._ At his attempt to stand he collapsed to the floor holding his thigh in pain, gritting his teeth, and surprised to feel new bandaging. Quickly, he unwrapped the cloth strips and nervously felt his skin. The wound was sealed, no more open flesh, no more blood. He pounded his fists to the ground and clenched his teeth. _Damn that girl and her healing!_ Dragging his limp leg behind him he felt his way across the cave wall hoping to find the entrance. Within moments he saw moonlight hitting the ground in front of him and quickly hobbled his way toward the light. It was almost to dark to tell, but the tree line of the Okai forest could be seen in the near distance, tall and grand. He noticed the barren rocky land in front of him was empty unfortunately, as he scanned the land for the girl. But the small sound of laughter soon revealed her hiding place. Wolf spun around only to see Naramai and Tadeo sitting atop the stone making up the cave ceiling laughing and talking, their feet dangling over the edge with Naramai pointing to the stars with a bandaged hand. Both had small clumps of cooked meat in their hands with the boy still chewing. They looked utterly content, just the two of them. He pointed a finger to the girl and began to hobble toward the stone.

"You! I told you not to touch it! _I told you not to touch it!_" Their laughter stopped as they looked to Wolf. Naramai was glad to be sitting on the stone, out of the angered Wolf's reach. Nervously, she bit her lip as she watched the boy aggressively hobble.

"I…I know, and I'm sorry but…" Tadeo looked disgusted.

"Don't apologize!" He pointed to his friend, "If it weren't for her you'd be dead now stupid wolf. How about casting some of that pride aside and give thanks where it's due?!" Wolf began to hobble over to the rocky ledges hoping to reach the cave's roof like stone. Abruptly stopping, he shook his head and kneeled on the ground. Opening his mouth the light again poured out, revealing his familiar bird form. Naramai nervously looked to Tadeo.

"He shouldn't be moving around like that…why can't he just calm down?" Tadeo crossed his arms and scornfully looked to the flying bird.

"Because he's a beast…a stupid beast." Naramai stood up and raised her hands, trying to show Wolf she was sorry.

"Wolf, I don't know why you wouldn't trust me to heal you, but if I didn't, than you wouldn't have made it. I'm a healer…it's in my blood, I help people." The bird clumsily landed with the use of his only good leg on the stone and spread its wings, trying to look as ominous as possible.

"Trust has _nothing_ to do with it! It's a shame Naramai, _a real shame_ you know nothing about this world about except your stinking little village! You had better thank those stars up there you were pointing at, because you are extremely _lucky_! I'd love to just scratch out your eyes right now, but I can't unfortunately!" With his wings impressively spread he let light pour form his beak and Wolf began to hobble angrily toward the two. Naramai stumbled back, hitting the hard rock as she abruptly sat down. He ripped the bandaging from his leg and threw it to the girl, spitting on it.

"I am to _never_ accept help!" He lowered his face in front of her own, breathing heavily on her skin. "_That_ is in my blood." Turning, he slowly lowered himself onto the ledges and made his way down the rocks, wincing as he put weight on his injured leg; leaving Naramai and Tadeo alike starring with mouths open.

Disappearing into the mouth of the cave the boy turned and shouted up above the stone ceiling.

"I'd prepare myself Naramai! Tomorrow you learn _much_."


End file.
